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I 


KINCBOM  OF  GOD   SERIES 


IE  RELIGION  OF  JIJDAH. 

— iininnnimnfi-nnftinnniTT  "mi 

JOHN  BAYNE  ASCHAM 


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Section     -  A  C 


KINGDOM  OF  GOD  SERIES 

Studies  in  the  development  of  the  kingdom  of  God, 
for  use  consecutively  or  as  independent  units. 

The  Religion  of  Israel 

Twenty-six  lessons. 

By  John  Bayne  Ascham 

The  Religion  of  Judah 

Twenty-six  lessons. 

By  John  Bayne  Ascham 

The  Life  of  Jesus 

Twenty-six  lessons. 

By  Harris  Franklin  Rail 

The  Teachings  of  Jesus 

Twenty-six  lessons. 

By  Harris  Franklin  Rail 

The  Kingdom  of  God  Since  the  Time  of  Christ 

In  preparation.                        By  John  Bayne  Ascham 

KINGDOM  OF  GOD  SERIES 


^^ 


^^^OFPfiW'C, 


-^^ 


OCT  it)  19: 


The  Religion  of  Judah 


BY 

JOHN  BAYNE  ASCHAM 


THE  ABINGDON  PRESS 

NEW  YORK  CINCINNATI 


Copyright,  1920,  by 
JOHN  BAYNE  ASCHAM 


The  Bible  text  used  in  this  book,  except  that  appearing  in  italic,  is  taken  from 
the  American  Standard  Edition  of  the  Revised  Bible,  copyright,  1901,  by  Thomag 
Nelson  &  Sons,  and  is  used  by  permission. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAQB 

I.    The  Story  op  Judah  From  Rehoboam  to  Ahaz 7 

II.    The  Early  Prophecies  op  Isaiah 17 

III.  Isaiah  and  the  Jud^ean  Crisis  of  735  b.  c 27 

IV.  Isaiah  and  the  Assyrian  Invasion 36 

V.    Isaiah  and  the  Messianic  Hope 48 

VI.    The  Message  op  Micah 59 

VII.    The  Deuteronomic  Reform  69 

VIII.    Deuteronomic  Provisions  for  Worship 79 

IX.  Deuteronomic  Provisions  for  Social  Welfare  . .     90 

X.    Jeremiah:  Prophet  op  Judah's  Decline 100 

XI.    Jeremiah:  Prophet  op  Personal  Religion 109 

XII.  Ezekiel:  Watchman  Unto  the  House  of  Israel.  .  119 

XIII.  In  the  Wake  of  the  Exiles 129 

XIV.  Two  Nameless  Kingdom  Builders 140 

XV.    Tasks  and  Hopes  of  the  Returning  Exiles 152 

XVI.     From  Zechariah  to  Nehemiah 163 

XVII.     Nehemiah:  Builder  and  Reformer 174 

XVIII.    The  Development  of  Jewish  Law 185 

XIX.     Job:  A  Study  in  Jewish  Piety 197 

XX.    Jewish  Life  in  the  Persian  Period 209 

XXI.    The  Jewish  Sage 220 

XXII.    The  Maccabean  Crisis 231 

XXIII.  Jewish  Religious  Parties 242 

XXIV.  The  Jewish  Messianic  Hope 256 

XXV.    The  Jewish  Scriptures 270 

XXVI.    The  Developing  Kingdom  of  God 281 

Index 293 


CHAPTER  I 

THE  STOEY  OF  JUDAH  FROM  REHOBOAM  TO 

AHAZ 

United  Israel  came  to  its  fullness  of  national  spirit  and 
achievement  in  the  reign  of  Solomon,  during  the  middle 
of  the  tenth  century  B.  C.  The  death  of  Solomon  pre- 
cipitated the  revolt  of  the  northern  portion  of  the  state. 
Israel,  as  the  northern  kingdom  is  known,  pursued  a  tragic 
career  until  the  nation  perished  in  the  destruction  of 
Samaria  in  722  B.  C.  The  southern  part  of  Solomon's 
kingdom,  the  inhabitants  of  the  territory  lying  almost 
wholly  south  of  Jerusalem,  remained  loyal  to  his  son.  For 
almost  two  centuries  after  the  disruption  of  the  kingdom 
that  had  been  established  by  Saul,  David,  and  Solomon,  the 
southern  state,  known  as  Judah,  moved  on  uneventfully 
until  it  too  came  into  collision  with  Assyria.  During  this 
period  religious  conditions  for  the  most  part  were  the  same 
in  Judah  as  in  Israel. 

The  Political  Histoky 

Two  Centuries  of  Kings:  937-735  B.  C— (a)  Reliohoam, 
937-917. — In  addition  to  the  war  with  Israel  (1  Kings  14. 
30)  the  chief  event  of  this  king's  reign  is  narrated  in  1 
Kings  14.  25-28.  For  the  treasures  of  the  Temple  see 
7.  51.  To  despoil  the  Temple  to  pay  tribute  or  to  pur- 
chase an  alliance  was  not  an  infrequent  resort  of  Judah's 
kings.  See  in  2  Chronicles  11.  5-12  the  list  of  cities  forti- 
fied by  Rehoboam. 

(6)  Ahijah,  son  of  Rehohoam,  920-917. — War  continued 
between  him  and  Jeroboam.  No  details  of  his  reign  are 
given  by  the  editor  of  Kings.  A  typical  instance  of  the 
historical  methods  of  the  chronicler  is  2  Chronicles  13. 

(c)  Asa,  son  of  AUjah,  917-876.— Head  1  Kings  15. 
16-22.  Since  Ramah  was  only  a  few  miles  from  Jerusa- 
lem, the  desperate  strait  of  Asa  is  easily  understood.    Read 

7 


8  THE  RELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

2  Chronicles  16.  7-10  for  the  prophetic  attitude  toward 
Asa's  policy.  This  is  the  second  inroad  upon  the  Temple's 
treasures.  Note  the  first  hint  of  the  efforts  of  Judah's 
kings  to  reform  the  cultus  (1  Kings  15.  12,  13). 

(d)  Jehoshaphat,  son  of  Asa,  876-851. — Jehoshaphat 
ended  the  long  feud  between  Judah  and  Israel  by  a  mar- 
riage alliance  with  the  house  of  Ahab  (2  Kings  8.  18). 
One  of  the  first  issues  of  this  alliance  was  a  campaign 
against  Damascus  to  recover  Israelitish  territory  in  Gilead. 
See  1  Kings  22.  1-37  for  the  disastrous  results.  The 
chronicler's  parallel  is  found  in  2  Chronicles  18.  1  to  19. 
3.  What  other  acts  are  ascribed  to  him  in  1  Kings  22. 
46-49  ? 

(e)  Jelioram,  son  of  Jehoshaphat,  85 1-8 Jf 3, — Read  2 
Kings  8.  16-18  for  his  marriage  and  8.  20-22  for  his 
disastrous  campaign  against  Edom.  The  passage  2  Chron- 
icles 21.  2-4  is  probably  a  bit  of  authentic  history  that  the 
writer  of  Kings  took  no  pains  to  record. 

(/)  Ahaziah,  son  of  Jehoram,  or  Joram,  8Jf3-842. — He 
reigned  a  little  less  than  a  year.  There  is  little  to  record 
about  him.  He  went  to  Samaria  to  visit  Jehoram,  his 
brother-in-law,  the  king  of  Israel,  who  was  ill  (2  Kings 
8.  29),  and,  being  there  at  the  time  of  Jehu's  revolution, 
was  slain  (9.27,28). 

(g)  Athaliah,  daughter  of  Ahdh  of  Israel  and  mother 
of  Ahaziah,  842-836.— Reaid  2  Kings  11.  1-3  for  Athaliah's 
seizure  of  the  throne.  Athaliah  had  carried  into  Jerusalem 
the  Tyrian  Baalism  wliich  her  mother  Jezebel  had  im- 
ported into  Israel  (11.  18).  What  measures  did  she  take 
to  secure  herself  on  the  throne  ?  Jehu  had  already  rooted 
out  the  foreign  Baalism  in  Israel.  How  is  Athaliah's 
prolonged  success  accounted  for?  Read  2  Kings  11.  4-20 
for  the  revolt  under  Jehoiada  and  the  enthronement  of 
Joash.  2  Chronicles  22.  11  states  that  Jehoiada  was  the 
priest  of  the  Temple  and  the  husband  of  Jehoshabeath,  the 
aunt  of  Joash,  whose  life  she  saved. 

{h)  Joash,  or  Jehoash,  son  of  Ahaziah,  836-796. — Read 
2  Kings  12.  4-16  for  the  king's  repair  of  the  Temple.  Up 
to  this  time  the  expense  of  the  upkeep  of  the  Temple  was 


FROM  REHOBOAM  TO  AHAZ  9 

borne  by  the  king.  Now  the  expense  is  to  be  borne  by  the 
people.  At  first  Joash  decreed  that  two  sources  of  priestly 
revenue  should  be  expended  by  the  priests  for  repairs — 
namely:  Temple  dues,  or  taxes,  imposed  by  the  priests  for 
this  purpose,  and  free-will  offerings.  For  several  years  the 
priests  collected  this  money  but  failed  to  expend  it  as  di- 
rected. Then  the  chest  was  introduced,  and  the  expendi- 
ture of  the  money  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  royal  secre- 
tary and  the  chief  priest.  The  second  plan  worked 
successfully  and  continued  in  force  probably  until  the 
destruction  of  the  Temple.  Read  2  Kings  12.  17,  18  for 
the  Syrian  aggression  and  the  tribute  of  Joash.  This  is 
the  third  recorded  despoliation  of  the  Temple  to  pay  tribute 
or  to  bribe  an  ally.  It  is  stated  in  2  Chronicles  24.  17-22 
that  the  chief  priest,  Zechariah,  was  stoned  by  royal  order, 
and  that  the  king's  assassination  was  in  revenge  for  the 
priest's  death. 

(i)  Amaziali,   son   of  Joash,  796-782. — Read  2  Kings 

14.  1-7.  After  an  introduction  in  the  usual  Deuteronomic 
style  note  the  two  incidents  taken  from  the  older  historical 
records — namely,  the  execution  of  the  murderers  of  Joash 
and  Amaziah's  victory  over  the  Edomites.  The  first  of 
these  is  noteworthy.  Observe  the  statement  "the  children 
of  the  murderers  he  put  not  to  death."  What  was  the 
older  practice?  See  Joshua  7.  24;  2  Kings  9.  26.  This 
is  a  distinct  advance  in  jurisprudence.  Later  the  practice 
of  limiting  guilt  to  the  actual  transgressor  was  embodied 
in  the  Deuteronomic  Code  (see  Deuteronomy  24.  16).  Em- 
boldened by  his  success  over  Edom,  Amaziah  dared  Israel 
to  battle.  The  challenge  and  the  disastrous  results  are 
told  in  2  Kings  14.  8-14.  Again  the  Temple  was  despoiled. 
Undoubtedly  Amaziah's  folly  with  regard  to  Israel  occa- 
sioned the  insurrection  that  ended  in  his  death  (14.  19,  20). 

(;■)  Azariah  (Uzziah),  son  of  Amaziah,  782-7 JfO. — His 
son  Jotham  was  regent  from  751  until  his  father's  death, 
when  he  assumed  the  throne.  The  editor  of  Kings  gives 
only  two  events  of  Uzziah's  long  reign:  2  Kings  14.  22; 

15.  5.  The  longer  account  in  2  Chronicles  26.  6-15  throws 
additional  light  upon  the  military  activities  and  commer- 


10  THE  EELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

cial  prosperity  of  Judah  under  the  rule  of  Uzziah.  It  is 
quite  probable  that  Isaiah  2.  6-21,  with  its  suggestions  of 
trade  and  wealth,  describes  conditions  in  the  closing  years 
of  Uzziah's  reign.  Putting  all  these  references  together, 
what  may  be  inferred  concerning  the  political  and  social 
conditions  in  Judah  in  the  days  of  Amos,  Hosea,  and 
Isaiah  ? 

(k)  JotJiarriy  son  of  Azariah,  regent  751-7^0;  Icing  7^0- 
735. — The  occasion  for  the  regency  is  explained  in  2  Kings 
15.  5.  A  rare  prophetic  summary  of  his  reign,  15.  32-38, 
states  that  "he  built  the  upper  gate  of  the  house  of 
Jehovah.'^  As  the  Temple  came  more  and  more  to  be  the 
sanctuary  of  Judah,  the  need  of  the  new  approaches  be- 
came pressing.  According  to  2  Kings  15.  37  the  Syrian 
invasion  was  threatening  at  the  time  of  his  death.  A  few 
other  details  are  added  in  2  Chronicles  27.  3-6. 

Summary  of  Political  History. — The  two  centuries  of 
Judah's  history  from  the  death  of  Solomon  to  the  Assyrian 
period  were  less  eventful  than  Israel's  stormy  career.  For 
the  first  one  hundred  years  there  was  constant  friction 
between  the  two  kingdoms.  This  open  antagonism  was 
ended  by  the  marriage  alliance  arranged  by  Jehoshaphat 
and  Ahab.  During  the  second  century  Israel's  position 
between  Judah  and  Damascus  imposed  upon  her  the  brunt 
of  Syria's  aggressions.  Protected  by  the  northern  king- 
dom's successes  and  misfortunes,  Judah  was  free  to  ac- 
quire that  prosperity  and  sense  of  security  which 
characterized  the  southern  state  under  Uzziah  and  Ahaz. 
Judah  differs  from  Israel  in  its  loyalty  to  the  Davidic 
dynasty.  With  the  exception  of  the  half  dozen  years  of 
Athaliah's  usurpation  the  throne  descended  regularly  from 
father  to  son  during  nearly  the  whole  of  Judah's  history. 
Undoubtedly  this  loyalty  to  David's  house  was  augmented 
by  the  attraction  of  the  Temple;  and  the  stability  of  the 
throne  tended  to  transform  gradually  the  royal  sanctuary 
into  the  nation's  one  legitimate  place  of  worship. 

The  Religious  Life 
The  Religious  Influence  of  Solomon. — The  reigns  of 


FROM  REHOBOAM  TO  AHAZ  11 

David  and  Solomon  established  in  the  thought  of  the 
Hebrew  people  Jehovah  as  the  national  Deity.  In  his 
name  successful  wars  of  conquest  had  been  waged.  All  the 
chief  sanctuaries  were  his.  In  remote  districts  some  local 
Canaanitish  Baal  might  still  be  honored.  But  in  general 
Jehovah  reigned  supreme  in  the  religious  thought  and 
practice  of  the  Hebrew  people.  Other  nations  had  their 
deities,  and  the  reality  of  these  gods  was  conceded  by  the 
prevalent  thought  of  Israel  in  this  period.  The  primitive 
worship  of  Jehovah,  the  worship  of  the  wilderness,  is 
largely  a  matter  of  conjecture.  It  involved  animal  sacri- 
fice, perhaps  at  stated  periods  but  certainly  at  times  of 
confusion  and  crisis.  The  sacred  places,  where  sacrifices 
might  be  offered,  were  few  and  unadorned.  This  primitive 
worship  was  very  similar  to  the  religious  beliefs  and  prac- 
tices of  the  Bedouin  of  to-day. 

Upon  entrance  into  Canaan  this  primitive  worship  was 
greatly  modified  by  the  religious  life  of  the  Canaanites. 
The  religion  of  the  nomad  gave  place  to  the  religion  of 
the  settled  agriculturist.  The  common  worship  became 
largely  a  borrowing  from  the  Canaanites.  The  three  great 
annual  festivals  (Exodus  23.  14-17)  entered  into  the  wor- 
ship of  Jehovah  from  the  customs  of  the  Canaanites.  The 
sanctuaries  of  the  Hebrews  in  Palestine  had  been  sacred 
places  long  before  their  settlement  in  the  land.  The 
mazzebah,  or  stone  column,  and  the  asherah,  or  wooden 
pillar — essentials  at  a  Canaanitish  altar — became  familiar 
elements  in  the  sacrificial  feasts  of  the  Hebrews. 

In  addition  to  the  unchallenged,  unspiritual  forms  of 
worship  Solomon  introduced  the  altars  and  the  priests  of 
foreign  deities.  As  a  result  of  his  treaties  with  surround- 
ing nations  women  of  the  royal  families  of  these  nations 
were  admitted  to  his  harem.  With  these  wives,  in  the 
manner  of  our  modern  ambassadorial  privileges,  came  the 
religious  rites  of  their  respective  peoples.  Upon  the 
Mount  of  Olives,  Solomon  set  up  a  sanctuary  of  Astarte, 
the  widely  worshiped  Semitic  goddess  of  fertility  and  love; 
Milcom,  the  national  god  of  the  Ammonites ;  and  Chemosh, 
the  chief  Moabite  deity  (1  Kings  11.  6-8).     The  editor 


n  THE  RELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

of  the  book  of  Kings  does  not  give  the  names  of  other 
foreign  deities  worshiped  at  Jerusalem  but  states  (11.  8) 
that  Solomon's  many  marriages  were  the  occasion  of  many 
diverse  forms  of  worship. 

These  women  of  foreign  birth,  representing  trade  rela- 
tions with  their  homeland,  naturally  would  not  be  the  only 
worshipers  at  these  shrines  on  the  Mount  of  Olives.  Nor 
would  these  sanctuaries,  at  which  women  of  royal  blood 
worshiped,  be  inconspicuous  and  meanly  adorned.  The 
worship  conducted  at  these  altars  not  only  would  tend  to 
make  the  Hebrew  tolerant  of  foreign  rites  but  also  would 
attract  the  natives  of  Jerusalem  to  participate  in  the 
foreign  rites.  The  worship  of  Astarte  in  particular  would 
be  demoralizing.  Some  of  these  sanctuaries  were  in  ex- 
istence until  the  reforms  inaugurated  by  Josiah  swept  them 
away.  That  they  should  have  continued  for  a  period  of 
more  than  three  hundred  years  indicates  that  Hebrews 
were  drawn  into  the  worship  carried  on  at  these  shrines, 
and  that  Judah  was  not  as  alert  as  Israel  to  invasions  of 
the  rights  of  Jehovah. 

Tyrian  Baalism. — The  policy  inaugurated  by  Solomon 
was  followed  by  other  princes.  Jehoram  married  Athaliah, 
the  daughter  of  Ahab  and  Jezebel,  sovereigns  of  Israel. 
As  her  mother  had  done  in  Samaria,  she  introduced  Tyrian 
Baalism  into  Jerusalem.  A  temple  was  erected  for  the 
worship  of  the  Phoenician  national  deity,  probably  on  the 
Mount  of  Olives;  a  priest  was  installed;  and  numerous 
altars  and  images  were  erected  (2  Kings  11.  18).  This 
worship  continued  uninterruptedly  for  several  years.  In 
Jerusalem  this  worship  supplanted  for  the  court,  at  least 
during  the  six  years  of  Athaliah's  reign,  the  worship  of 
Jehovah  as  the  official  religion  of  the  state.  That  Atha- 
liah, a  princess  of  Israel,  should  bring  Tyrian  Baalism 
into  Jerusalem  as  the  official  religion  of  Israel — her  mar- 
riage with  the  king  of  Judah  would  warrant  her  in  intro- 
ducing only  the  religion  of  her  native  state — indicates  both 
the  resoluteness  of  her  Phoenician  spirit  bequeathed  to  her 
by  her  mother,  Jezebel,  and  also  the  tolerance  of  foreign 
religions  Solomon's  example  had  introduced  into  Judah. 


FROM  REHOBOAM  TO  AHAZ  13 

Efforts  at  Reform. — There  are  two  accounts  of  reform 
during  this  period  which  should  be  noted.  Read  1  Kings 
15.  12,  13.  The  sodomites,  or  sanctuary  prostitutes, 
were  no  doubt  attached  to  the  shrine  built  by  Solomon 
to  Astarte.  The  abominable  image  made  by  the  queen 
mother  was  probably  a  phallic  emblem.  The  zeal  of 
Asa  indicates  a  beginning  of  moral  revolt  against  the 
Canaanitish-Jehovah  worship  which  was  to  eventuate  later 
in  an  ethical  upheaval  of  the  ancient  cultus.  That  Asa 
did  not  wholly  succeed  is  stated  by  1  Kings  22.  46,  and 
Jehoshaphat,  who  stood  for  Tyrian  Baalism,  has  something 
to  his  credit. 

The  Temple  Built  by  Solomon. — The  political  history 
offers  glimpses  of  the  growing  importance  of  the  Temple. 
Built  by  Solomon  as  a  royal  sanctuary,  in  the  course  of 
time  it  tended  toward  a  sanctuary  for  the  people.  The 
reference  2  Kings  11.  14  indicates  that  by  the  time  of 
Athaliah  the  Temple  had  become  much  more  than  the 
king's  private  chapel.  The  repairs  to  the  Temple  were 
paid  for  by  popular  tax  and  the  free-will  offerings  of  the 
people.  The  splendor  of  the  Temple  overshadowed  the 
ancient  shrines  of  Judah  and  prepared  the  people  for  the 
Deuteronomic  reform  in  which  worship  was  centralized  at 
Jerusalem. 

Priest  and  Prophet. — During  these  two  centuries  there 
is  a  marked  difference  in  the  character  of  the  religious 
leadership  of  Israel  and  Judah.  In  Israel's  records  there 
appear  the  schools  of  the  prophets,  who  in  many  in- 
stances influenced  the  political  history  of  the  kingdom. 
Shemaiah,  Micaiah,  Elijah,  and  Elisha  are  notable  persons 
in  their  state.  Kings  were  compelled  to  reckon  with  them ; 
the  people  turned  to  them  in  their  extremity.  The  situa- 
tion in  Judah  during  the  same  period  is  quite  contrary. 
In  Jerusalem  the  priest  is  the  leading  religious  person  of 
the  state.  He  is  the  custodian  and  the  jealous  enthusiast 
for  the  dignity  of  Jehovah.  He  feels  the  affront  and  the 
danger  of  Tyrian  Baalism  and  he  organizes  the  revolu- 
tion that  sweeps  Athaliah  from  the  throne  and  her  foreign 
worship   from   Jerusalem.     This   difference    of    religious 


14  THE  EELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

leadership  corresponds  with  a  difference  in  the  political 
situation  of  the  two  kingdoms.  A  large  factor  in  the  re- 
volt of  the  northern  tribes  had  been  the  antagonism  of  the 
democratic  Hebrews  to  the  autocratic  economic  methods 
of  Solomon.  The  prophets  arose  out  of  the  common  life. 
They  voiced  the  democracy  of  the  people.  Consequently, 
their  prominence  and  influence  were  assured  by  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  northern  kingdom.  The  prophets  were 
also,  from  the  days  of  Saul,  jealous  enthusiasts  for  Je- 
hovah. Consequently,  Ahab's  alliance  with  Phoenicia 
quickened  the  prophetic  activity  in  Israel.  The  political 
isolation  of  Judah  partly  accounts  for  the  late  appearance 
of  prophetic  activity  in  Jerusalem.  Then,  too,  the  Temple 
was  the  outstanding  religious  institution  in  Judah.  It 
was  the  royal  sanctuary.  Its  priest  was  an  important  per- 
sonage. The  worship  was  conducted  in  elaborate  man- 
ner. The  Temple  priests  naturally  became  the  guardians 
of  the  national  worship.  They  united  within  themselves 
the  spirit  of  Israel's  prophets  and  the  routine  of  Israel's 
priests  at  the  royal  sanctuaries.  It  was  not  until  Judah 
was  compelled  to  face  the  great  empires  of  the  Nile  and 
Euphrates  that  great  prophets  arose  in  Jerusalem. 

Observations 

The  Choice  of  Historical  Material. — Judah's  annals  for 
two  centuries  are  brief.  As  long  as  history  is  a  record  of 
wars,  the  narratives  of  a  peaceful  people  must  be  concise. 
These  two  hundred  years  were  not  a  brilliant  period  of 
Hebrew  life;  they  were  a  period  of  spiritual  inertia.  The 
richness  of  a  civilization  is  measured  by  the  expansion 
of  its  spiritual  vision.  Yet  during  these  centuries  there 
was  some  trailing  toward  the  dawn  of  ethical  religion. 
The  earliest  Hebrew  laws  were  codified  by  Judah's  priests 
within  this  period.  The  state's  faithfulness  to  David's 
dynasty  manifests  a  sense  of  moral  order.  Amos,  who 
began  the  great  prophetic  experience  of  religion,  was  a 
citizen  of  Judah.  If  the  historians  of  Judah  had  been 
trained  to  observe  and  appreciate  the  common  facts  of 
daily  life,  they  might  have  wonderfully  illumined  for  us 


FROM  REHOBOAM  TO  AHAZ  15 

the  ethical  growth  of  Hebrew  life,  for  Amos  and  Isaiah 
did  not  spring  up  in  Judah  with  no  relatedness  to  moral 
ideas.  There  must  have  arisen  in  many  minds  doubts  and 
questionings  concerning  the  ritual  of  worship.  History 
is  not  a  record  of  the  growth  alone.  True  history  investi- 
gates and  relates  the  life  of  the  people.  It  is  imperative 
that  all  who  seek  to  record  the  life  of  our  times  must  see 
and  understand  the  life  of  the  humble  as  well  as  the 
achievements  of  the  great. 

Eeligion  and  the  State. — Note  the  concern  of  the 
Hebrew  states  for  religion.  State  religion  is  usually  un- 
spiritual  religion.  State  religion  has  commonly  been 
autocratic  and  intolerant.  To  preserve  freedom  of  con- 
science there  has  seemed  an  increasing  necessity  in  modern 
centuries  to  divorce  church  and  state.  This  separation 
has  tended  to  create  the  impression  that  the  state  need 
not  concern  itself  with  religion.  It  is  said  that  it  is  not  a 
matter  of  public  concern  what  attitude  toward  religion  is 
assumed  by  state  officials.  It  is  forgotten  that  the  state  is  a 
social  institution,  that  it  is  a  community  of  human  beings. 
It  is  disastrous  for  the  individual  and  the  community  to 
consider  that  any  function  of  mankind  may  be  carried 
through  with  the  neglect  of  religion.  It  is  an  irreparable 
social  loss  for  the  stat€  to  maintain  an  educational  system 
that  makes  no  provision  for  formal  religious  discipline.  Is 
it  not  possible  for  the  state  in  some  manner  to  concern  it- 
self with  religion,  that  the  citizens  may  be  constantly  as- 
sured that  public  and  individual  welfare  is  grounded  in 
loyalty  to  the  will  of  God? 

Themes  fob  Class  Discussion 

1.  Why  did  the  Temple  at  Jerusalem  have  so  little  signifi- 
cance for  the  prophets  of  Israel? 

2.  Where  did  Elijah  in  his  extremity  go  to  commune  with 
Jehovah?    (1  Kings  19.  8.) 

3.  Why  is  there  no  reference  to  the  ark  during  these  two 
centuries?  Where  was  this  ancient  sanctity  during  this 
period?    (1  Kings  6.  19.) 

4.  How  is  the  priestly  leadership  of  religion  in  Judah  to 
be  explained? 


16  THE  RELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

5.  What  change  took  place  in  the  use  of  the  Temple?   What 
was  the  cause  of  the  arrangements? 

6.  Why  was  the  political  life  of  Judah  so  uneventful  dur- 
ing these  two  centuries? 

7.  Why  was  Judah  so  tolerant  of  Tyrian  Baalism? 

8.  What  forms  of  worship  were  observed  during  the  period 
under  review? 

9.  To  what  extent   does  the   quiet  political   life   of   Judah 
suggest  a  fair  amount  of  social  justice  within  the  state? 

10.  In  what  ways  to-day  could  the  state  assume  the  respon- 
sibility of  inculcating  the  religious  life  among  its  citizens? 

References  fob  Additional  Reading 

Old-Testament  History,  Smith,  pages  184-6,  197,  203-6. 
Jerusalem,  Smith,  Volume  II,  pages  83-131. 
History,    Prophecy,    and   the   Monuments,    McCurdy,    para* 
graphs  269-78,  295-300. 
Biblical  Geography  and  History,  Kent,  pages  182-4. 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  EARLY  PROPHECIES  OF  ISAIAH 

The  previous  chapter  traced  the  political  history  of 
Judah  from  the  death  of  Solomon,  937  B.  C,  to  the  reign 
of  Ahaz,  which  began  in  735  B.  C.  This  was  a  period 
unmarked  by  unique  events.  Judah  was  sheltered  from 
the  world  by  the  political  sturdiness  of  the  northern  king- 
dom. With  the  Syro-Ephraimitic  War,  however,  Judah 
entered  into  world  politics.  The  early  prophecies  of  Isaiah, 
considered  in  this  chapter,  belong  to  the  reign  of  Jotliam, 
740-735  B.  C,  and  indicate  the  internal  conditions  of  the 
state  that  led  Ahaz  on  to  his  fateful  policy  of  alliance  with 
Assyria. 

The  Call  of  Isaiah 

The  Eealization  of  a  Divine  Purpose. — Great  religious 
careers  frequently  are  precipitated  by  a  crisis.  In  every 
case  they  are  begotten  and  sustained  by  the  individual 
man  or  woman  becoming  aware  of  some  purpose  of  God. 
It  is  the  recognition  that  God  has  something  for  him  to 
do  which  enables  a  man  to  adventure  in  his  name. 

Study  Isaiah  6.  1-12.  This  narrative  was  composed  a 
few  years  after  the  beginning  of  Isaiah's  ministry.  His 
call  to  the  prophetic  office  was  in  740  B.  C,  and  this 
account  of  that  experience  which  changed  the  world  for 
him  was  circulated  among  his  associates  probably  in  735. 
The  publication  served  to  inform  his  disciples  concerning 
the  influences  that  shaped  his  life,  his  fundamental  con- 
victions, and  the  inevitable  obstacles  that  beset  the  mes- 
senger of  lofty  spiritual  conceptions  in  a  crass  age. 

Isaiah's  career  exhibits  two  disunited  features  of  earlier 
prophecy.  Like  Elijah  and  Elisha  he  exercises  consider- 
able political  influence;  and  like  Amos  and  Hosea  he 
demands    an    ethical    religion.     He    is    the    first    of    the 

17 


18  THE  EELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

world's  statesmen  whose  political  horizon  is  profoundly 
both  ethical  and  religious.  He  is  the  forerunner  of  Savon- 
arola, Luther,  Calvin,  and  Knox.  He  is  also  the  first 
Hebrew  thinker  to  formulate  a  Messianic  hope  and  to  de- 
liver a  Messianic  message.  Later  chapters  will  expand 
this  statement.  Isaiah  therefore  becomes  a  figure  of  sur- 
passing interest  not  only  in  Jewish  life  but  also  in  the 
history  of  the  world. 

The  Convictions  Embodied  in  His  Call. — An  analysis 
of  this  experience  of  Isaiah  indicates  that  four  distinct  but 
related  ideas  were  coming  to  harvest  in  his  mind — namely : 
(1)  Jewish  life  is  moving  in  the  wrong  direction;  it  has 
in  it  the  seeds  of  social  dissolution ;  it  is  cursed  by  ambi- 
tion, greed,  sensuality,  and  disloyalty  to  Jehovah.  (2) 
The  nation's  God  is  nothing  less  than  a  righteous  God, 
who  ever  seeks  righteousness  among  his  people.  (3)  Je- 
hovah needs  messengers — men  who  will  face  the  careless 
nation  and  preach  righteousness.  (4)  Eighteousness  is 
better  than  national  existence. 

With  these  ideas  running  in  his  mind  Isaiah  made  his 
way  into  the  Temple  at  Jerusalem.  While  he  worshiped, 
the  Temple  before  him  faded,  and  a  heavenly  one  took  its 
place.  In  glorious  and  awful  surroundings  the  ideas  that 
were  forming  in  his  mind  were  congealed  into  convic- 
tions. Jehovah,  manifesting  himself  to  Isaiah  in  this 
striking  vision,  confirmed  his  meditations.  Henceforth 
Isaiah  became  the  active  messenger  of  the  Holy  One  to 
sinful  Israel. 

At  the  beginning  of  his  ministry  Isaiah  evidently  ex- 
pected the  destruction  of  Judah.  The  prophets  preceding 
Amos  taught  the  inviolability  of  the  Hebrew  states.  Amos 
and  Hosea,  in  the  interest  of  ethical  religion,  preached 
their  destruction  or,  at  least,  only  faintly  imaged  a  re- 
stored people.  Isaiah,  likewise,  in  his  earliest  years  saw 
no  spirit  of  repentance  in  Judah  and  believed  that  Jeho- 
vah's judgment  would  end  in  desolate  cities  and  a  wasted 
countryside.  But  later  his  faith  became  stronger.  He 
became  the  first  to  unite  a  stern  denunciation  of  the  sins 
of  Israel  and  Judah  with  the  clear  expectation  that  the 


THE  EARLY  PROPHECIES  OF  ISAIAH       19 

Judaean  state  at  least  should  outride  the  storms  of  chas- 
tisement and  be  transformed  into  a  kingdom  in  which 
Jehovah's  will,  expressed  in  righteousness,  would  be  fully 
done. 

The  Essential  Message  of  Isaiah 

Conventional  Holiness. — In  few  particulars  does  the 
history  of  religion  show  more  striking  instances  of  develop- 
ment than  that  found  in  the  change  of  meaning  in  the  idea 
of  holiness.  Previous  to  the  eighth-century  prophets  the 
conception  of  holiness  held  by  the  Hebrew  people  was  the 
idea  of  sanctity  which  was  common  throughout  the  Semitic 
world  and  which  resembled  that  which  is  still  to  be  found 
among  all  primitive  peoples.  The  eighth-century  prophets 
repudiated  these  primitive  ideas  but  they  were  not  able  to 
eradicate  entirely  the  earlier  views  which  will  be  found 
reappearing  in  the  legislation  that  sprang  up  to  enforce 
Jewish  religion  after  the  Exile. 

Examine  1  Samuel  21.  4,  5;  2  Samuel  11.  11;  Deu- 
teronomy 12.  26;  Isaiah  13.  3.  It  will  be  observed  that 
holiness  is  ascribed  to  things  used  in  connection  with 
a  sanctuary;  that  soldiers  were  sacred  persons  because 
war  was  initiated  by  sacrifice  and  was  conducted  under 
the  immediate  direction  of  the  Deity;  that  prophets  were 
holy  men  of  God  not  because  of  saintliness  of  character 
but  because  they  were  in  the  service  of  God.  In  Leviti- 
cus 6.  18-23,  Isaiah  65.  5,  and  Ezekiel  44.  19  appear 
some  of  the  most  primitive  ideas  concerning  holiness.  Here 
it  appears  (1)  that  a  person  or  thing  is  holy  which  is  set 
apart  for  divine  use,  (2)  that  holiness  is  something  that 
may  be  passed  on  to  others  through  contact,  and  (3)  that 
such  holiness  rendered  its  possessors  unfit  to  participate 
in  ordinary  life.  This  holiness,  gotten  by  contagion,  needed 
to  be  purged  away  by  purificatory  rites  before  its  pos- 
sessors could  resume  their  secular  vocations. 

Holiness  for  Isaiah. — Until  the  eighth-century  proph- 
ets spoke,  holiness,  in  the  thought  of  mankind,  had 
nothing  to  do  with  morality  and  purity  of  life.  Applied 
to  deity  it  meant  irresistible  power  and  unapproachable 


20  THE  EELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

majesty.  In  its  earliest  use  "the  holy  God"  meant  no 
more  than  God.  But  with  Amos  a  new  conception  of  God 
arises.  In  the  thought  of  the  prophets  and  their  disciples 
God  is  to  be  characterized  by  moral  qualities.  Isaiah's 
vision  of  the  holy  Jehovah  proclaims  that  holiness  has 
expanded  into  righteousness. 

The  whole  mission  of  Isaiah  centers  in  this  new  con- 
ception of  deity.  Jehovah's  holiness  is  not  ritual  but 
ethical,  and  the  holiness  that  Jehovah  demands  is  moral 
living.  Jehovah  is  exalted  above  men  neither  by  his  power 
nor  by  his  capriciousness.  If  there  is  a  chasm  between  him 
and  his  creatures,  this  alienation  is  caused  by  the  want 
of  morality  in  Judah.  That  Jehovah  is  holy  and  lives 
apart  from  men  was  not  a  new  conception.  The  Hebrew 
ever  had  been  aware  of  a  distinction  between  sacred  and 
common,  but  this  distinction  had  not  been  ethicized.  Dis- 
ease, an  issue  of  blood,  contact  with  the  dead,  a  journey 
into  a  foreign  land,  the  eating  of  tabooed  animals,  made 
men  and  women  unclean  and  unfitted  them  for  drawing 
near  an  altar  and  mingling  in  the  sacred  festivals.  To  the 
people  in  Isaiah's  day  holiness  meant  that  the  shrines, 
the  priests,  the  sacrifices,  and  the  worshipers  participating 
in  the  religious  feasts  must  be  free  from  those  physical 
conditions  which  rendered  them  ritually  unclean.  This 
ritual  uncleanness  made  them  objectionable  to  Jehovah, 
they  knew  not  why,  and  aroused  his  wrath.  Holiness  in 
Jehovah  they  understood  as  majesty,  the  exalted  dignity 
of  a  being  elevated  above  the  chances  and  changes  of  the 
world. 

Isaiah  felt  that  such  a  Deity  could  not  save  Judah  in  its 
desperate  need.  There  must  be  in  him  some  loftier  nature 
than  was  commonly  believed,  and  there  must  be  some 
deeper  ground  of  acceptability  to  him  than  the  old  dis- 
tinction of  clean  and  unclean.  This  aspiration  of  Isaiah 
was  the  open  door  for  the  inspiration  of  Jehovah.  It 
was  revealed  to  the  prophet  that  the  one  cleanness  that 
Jehovah  desired  was  in  life,  and  the  uncleanness  that  he 
abhorred  was  greed,  lust,  and  injustice.  He  saw  that  the 
essence  of  deity  is  not  power  but  the  splendid  radiance 


THE  EARLY  PROPHECIES  OF  ISAIAH       21 

of  ethical  life.  Jehovah  is  to  be  feared  not  because  he  is 
all-powerful  but  because  he  is  opposed  to  all  that  is  impure 
and  unjust. 

The  Earliest  Prophecies  of  Isaiah 

It  is  generally  agreed  that  Isaiah  2.  6-21  is  to  be  placed 
among  the  earliest  of  Isaiah's  utterances  and  illustrates 
his  thought  shortly  after  the  death  of  Uzziah.  Judah  was 
then  enjoying  the  peace  and  prosperity  that  had  been 
increasing  through  this  king's  long  reign  and  that  con- 
tinued through  the  reign  of  his  son  and  successor,  Jotham, 
and  produced  that  sense  of  security  so  fatal  to  Ahaz  in 
the  days  of  the  Syro-Ephraimitic  War.  The  date  739 
B.  C.  fairly  represents  the  time. 

Read  carefully  this  section  and  make  a  list  of  the  faults 
for  which  Jehovah  has  renounced  the  nation.  Verse  6 
should  be  translated: 

"He  hath  renounced  his  people,  the  house  of  Judah, 
For  they  are  full  of  divination  from  the  East 
And  are  full  of  soothsayers,  lihe  the  Philistines, 
They  make  compacts  with  foreigners," 

Observe  that  Isaiah,  like  Amos,  traces  the  sins  of  the 
people  to  their  greed  for  wealth.  In  what  way  has  com- 
merce contributed  to  defection  from  Jehovah?  Does 
Isaiah  feel  that  financial  prosperity  weakens  in  men  the 
feeling  of  dependence  on  God  ?  ^  What  does  Isaiah  mean 
by  the  "haughtiness  of  men"  (2.  17)  ?  Note  especially 
the  assurance  that  "there  shall  be  a  day  of  Jehovah  of 
hosts"  (2.  12).  What  does  Isaiah  understand  by  this? 
What  judgments  does  Isaiah  pronounce  upon  Judah  ? 

Examine  Isaiah  3.  1  to  4.  1.  This  section  also  is  among 
the  early  oracles  of  Isaiah.  Note  the  additional  disorders 
that  are  leading  on  the  destruction  of  the  state.  Who  are 
the  "stay  and  staff"  of  Judah — that  is,  the  leaders  and  the 
supporters  of  the  state?  Observe  especially  the  religious 
leaders.    These  are  the  judge — that  is,  the  priest  who  de- 

>  See  r^  Religion  o/  Itrael,  Ascbam,  page  203, 


22  THE  RELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

livers  oracles  at  the  sanctuary — the  prophet,  the  diviner, 
the  cunning  artificer — that  is,  the  expert  magician  and 
the  skillful  enchanter.  It  was  a  capricious  universe  in 
which  people  anciently  lived.  Men  neither  understood  that 
nature  is  guided  by  law  nor  believed  that  God^s  dealings 
with  them  were  determined  by  moral  purposes.  There- 
fore, men  and  women  lived  in  a  constant  anxiety  to  dis- 
cover the  will  of  their  deity  or  deities  and  to  placate  their 
whims.  It  is  a  sad  world  that  turns  to  the  soothsayer 
and  diviner.  Isaiah  knew  a  different  world  and  he  was 
doing  his  utmost  to  lead  his  countrymen  to  believe  in  a 
Deity  whose  will  was  discoverable  in  moral  thinking  and 
action,  and  whose  willingness  to  bless  never  withdrew  from 
those  who  faithfully  served  him  by  righteous  living. 

Isaiah  sternly  denounces  the  socially  favored  leaders 
who  have  not  hesitated  to  live  by  economic  oppression  of 
the  poor  (3.  14,  15).  The  women  of  his  times  by  wanton- 
ness and  luxury  contribute  to  the  general  demoraliza- 
tion of  the  nation  (3.  16,  17).  Isaiah's  words  will  recall 
the  scorn  of  Amos  for  the  ^Ti:ine'^  of  Samaria  (Amos 
4.  1),  whose  sensuousness  made  for  the  destruction  of  the 
northern  kingdom.  Observe  the  doom  Isaiah  pronounces 
upon  the  thoughtless  and  selfish  women  of  his  day  (3.  24 
to  4.1). 

The  beautiful  parable  of  the  vineyard,  Isaiah  5.  1-24, 
also  dates  from  the  early  years  of  Isaiah's  ministry  and 
belongs  probably  to  the  last  year  of  Jotham's  reign,  when 
the  threatened  approach  of  the  Syrian  and  Israelitish 
forces  brought  keenly  to  the  prophet  the  dissoluteness  of 
the  state.  Note  the  beauty  of  the  imagery  and  the  swift 
application  in  verse  7,  when  the  attention  and  sympathy 
of  his  hearers  have  been  secured.  What  instances  of  a 
fruitless  vineyard  are  cited  in  verses  7,  8,  11,  12,  18,  23? 
What  penalty  is  to  be  meted  out  to  these  land-grabbers, 
drunkards,  scorners  of  the  judgments  of  Jehovah,  triflers 
with  moral  distinctions,  and  accepters  of  bribes?  Note 
that  Isaiah  (5.  24)  sums  up  the  sin  of  Judah  as  a  rejec- 
tion of  the  instruction  of  Jehovah  of  hosts.  By  the  law 
pr  teaching  of  Jehovah,  Isaiah  does  not  mean  a  definite 


THE  EARLY  PEOPHECIES  OF  ISAIAH       23 

set  of  laws  but  such  social  principles  pf  honorable  dealing 
as  had  come  to  be  more  or  less  clearly  defined  through  the 
centuries.  These  principles  had  been  enunciated  by  priests 
at  the  sanctuaries,  by  prophets,  and  by  other  eminent  men 
who  endeavored  to  make  human  society  more  secure. 
The  better  knowledge  of  life  that  had  sprung  up  in  the 
human  conscience  Isaiah  holds  is  the  teaching  of  Jehovah. 
We  close  our  study  of  this  group  of  early  prophecies 
with  an  oracle  against  Israel.  It  was  impossible  for  a 
prophet  of  the  southern  kingdom  to  keep  silent  about  the 
northern  state.  Already  Amos,  a  dozen  years  before,  had 
left  his  southern  home  to  proclaim  his  message  from 
Jehovah  at  Bethel.  Read  Isaiah  9.  8  to  10.  4.  This  section 
is  a  denunciation  of  the  arrogance  and  folly  of  the  northern 
kingdom  in  failing  to  profit  from  the  disasters  already 
befallen  the  state  and  its  blindness  to  the  approaching 
danger  from  Assyria.  Afflictions  already  endured  have 
not  taught  the  nation's  leaders  to  set  the  state  in  order. 
The  weak  and  defenseless  are  openly  wronged,  tribal  feuds 
curse  the  land,  and  a  general  condition  of  anarchy  pre- 
vails. Isaiah  5.  25-30  is  the  conclusion  of  this  oracle. 
There  is  nothing  in  Hebrew  prophecy  which  surpasses  the 
vivid  imagery  describing  the  approach  of  the  avenging 
Assyrian  hordes  upon  guilty  Israel. 

Thoughts  for  Our  Times 

Driven  by  the  profound  sense  of  the  false  security  of  his 
times,  Isaiah  was  brooding  in  the  Temple  when  the  vision 
came.  Aspiration  ever  precedes  inspiration.  Higher  re- 
ligious conceptions  always  are  first  formed  within  aspiring 
souls.  God  never  becomes  a  reality  to  the  man  who  does 
not  question  the  universe.  Man  climhs  to  heaven.  He 
dreams  of  the  eternal  city  before  he  finds  a  ladder  reaching 
from  his  stony  pillow  to  its  golden  portals. 

It  was  the  Jerusalem  Temple,  with  its  failure  to  com- 
mand the  conscience  of  his  day,  which  set  Isaiah  groping 
for  a  loftier  religious  authority.  Each  new  and  command- 
ing revelation  is  never  a  complete  break  with  the  past; 


24  THE  RELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

it  is  always  a  development  of  existent  ideas  and  forms.  To 
apprehend  this  truth  fully  makes  for  the  progress  of  the 
kingdom.  About  us  everywhere  are  vast  sections  of  life 
where  the  principles  of  Christian  brotherhood  are  not  ap- 
plied. Sometimes  it  is  ignorance,  as  well  as  cursed  selfish- 
ness, which  delays  the  better  day.  To  feel  that  the  greatest 
advances  are  never  a  birth  out  of  nothing  but  the  result  of 
long  processes  of  development  will  hold  us  heroically 
to  our  tasks  and  quicken  our  vision. 

Isaiah  makes  no  effort  to  overturn  Judah's  political  and 
economic  institutions.  Whether  he  was  satisfied  with  them, 
we  do  not  know.  If  he  could  have  had  his  way  he  would 
have  swept  aside  the  soothsaying,  the  idolatry,  and  the 
religious  feasts.  He  gladly  would  have  had  such  customs 
perish.  There  was  in  them  no  basis  of  reform.  But  the 
prophet  well  understood  that  in  order  to  obtain  a  just 
society  it  is  necessary  to  change  the  spirit  of  living  rather 
than  to  change  an  institution. 

Consciousness  of  God  is  our  guard  against  sin.  It  is 
infrequently  that  we  remind  ourselves  of  his  presence  in 
our  life.  To  remember  that  our  very  being  is  the  product 
of  his  continual  thought  enables  us  to  think  con- 
stantly of  him  as  the  sleepless,  loving  Father,  ever  ready 
to  enter  into  communion  with  us.  To  think  of  yourself, 
when  your  thoughts  turn  upon  self,  as  God's  child,  servant, 
and  friend;  of  your  home  as  God's  guest  house;  of  your 
business  as  God's  talent  intrusted  to  you;  of  your  recrea- 
tions as  God's  way  of  keeping  you  healthy  and  whole- 
some; of  your  fellow  beings  as  brothers  and  sisters  in  his 
family,  would  eliminate  sin  in  your  life.  To  gaze  steadily 
upon  the  face  of  God  is  the  one  perfect  way  to  noble 
character. 

You  may  read  Isaiah's  vision  over  and  over,  but  it  is 
not  your  vision.  The  most  heroic  religious  achievement  of 
the  past  avails  you  nothing  unless  it  leads  you  to  re- 
produce it  in  your  own  life.  You  cannot  rest  with 
other  men's  visions  of  God;  you  must  possess  your  own. 
When  your  vision  of  God  comes  it  may  draw  from  you  a 
cry  of  woe.    Your  life  will  seem  so  fruitless  measured  by 


THE  EARLY  PROPHECIES  OF  ISAIAH       25 

your  opportunities.  When  your  vision  comes,  you  will 
cease  to  apologize  for  righteousness ;  you  will  cease  to  com- 
promise with  doubtful  wrong;  you  will  no  longer  cringe 
before  blustering  evils.  Get  your  vision  of  God,  like  the 
disciples  at  Emmaus,  when  he  breaks  your  bread,  not 
when  he  breaks  your  heart.  It  is  not  opportunity  but 
vision  that  you  need.  If  the  vision  of  God  passes  you 
by — the  vision  that  burns  up  the  dross  and  purifies  you 
for  service,  that  turns  the  stammering  tongue  into  noble 
eloquence  and  your  faltering  feet  toward  paths  of  service 
— it  is  because  you  look  for  God  in  the  storm,  the  lightning, 
and  the  earthquake  rather  than  in  the  temple  of  your 
daily  contact  with  your  fellow  men. 

The  Hebrews  believed  in  contagious  holiness.  To  touch 
a  holy  person  or  object  infected  one  with  holiness.  But 
the  holiness  that  was  conferred  in  this  manner  unfitted 
one  to  fulfill  the  common  duties  of  life.  We  still  believe 
that  holiness  is  contagious.  When  one  lives  worthily,  the 
life  of  others  in  immediate  association  takes  on  a  finer 
spirit.  Genuine  Christian  living  induces  others  to  live 
nobly.  But  this  holiness  does  not  make  more  diflScult  the 
common  day  and  the  customary  duty.  It  is  an  inspiration, 
not  a  destruction  of  life. 

Themes  for  Class  Discussion 

1.  Narrate  some  of  the  historical  incidents  which  engaged 
Isaiah's  attention  at  the  threshold  of  his  public  ministry. 

2.  Describe  the  event  which  inaugurated  Isaiah's  prophetic 
career. 

3.  What  was  the  popular  conception  of  holiness?  What  did 
Isaiah  understand  by  holiness? 

4.  What  social  wrongs  did  Isaiah  condemn? 

5.  What  religious  practices  met  his  disapproval? 

6.  What  was  Isaiah's  doctrine  of  "the  day  of  Jehovah"? 

7.  What  punishments  did  Isaiah  believe  would  fall  upon  his 
countrymen?    By  what  agency  would  they  be  inflicted? 

8.  What  did  Isaiah  conceive  to  be  the  cause  of  the  social 
anarchy  which  was  dooming  the  state? 

9.  What  salary  did  Isaiah  receive  for  his  preaching? 

10.  Judging  from  Amos,  Hosea,  and  from  this  first  study  of 
Isaiah,  what  do  you  consider  is  the  characteristic  feature  of 
eighth-century  Hebrew  prophecy? 


26  THE  RELIGION  OF  JUDAH 


Suggested  Readings 

The  Book  of  the  Prophet  Isaiah,  Wade,  pages  xvii-xl. 

Religious  Teaching  of  the  Old  Testament,  Knudson,  pages 
137-53. 

The  Religion  of  Israel,  Smith,  pages  147-54. 

Article,  "Holiness,"  Encyclopedia  of  Religion  and  Ethics, 
Hastings. 


/   . 


CHAPTER  III 

ISAIAH  AND  THE  JUD^AN  CRISIS  OF  735  B.  C. 

Isaiah  now  assumes  the  leading  role  in  the  spiritual 
life  of  Judah.  In  the  first  years  of  his  ministry,  like 
Amos  and  Hosea,  he  has  but  little  influence  upon  the  social 
and  political  life  of  the  state;  henceforth,  throughout  his 
long  career,  Isaiah  appears  a  political  counsel  not  to  be 
ignored.  The  present  chapter  is  a  study  of  the  conditions 
in  Judah  arising  through  the  international  relations  in 
which  the  state  became  involved  and  of  the  messages  Isaiah 
spoke  to  his  countrymen  in  this  eventful  crisis. 

The  Syko-Ephraimitic  Invasion  of  Judah 

The  Coalition  Against  Assyria. — Ahaz,  the  son  of 
Jotham,  came  to  the  throne  of  Judah  in  735.  Imme- 
diately he  had  to  face  the  combined  attack  of  Israel  and 
Syria  (Damascus).  Read  2  Kings  16.  5-9.  From  these 
verses  it  appears  that  these  two  states,  having  determined 
to  make  a  stand  against  the  conquering  progress  of  Assyria 
in  the  west,  apparently  had  solicited  Judah,  while  Jotham 
was  yet  king,  to  join  the  confederacy.  The  refusal  of 
Ahaz  to  unite  in  a  coalition  against  the  powerfjil  Assyrian 
led  the  two  allies  into  an  attempt  to  force  Ahaz  to  join 
them.  Read  Isaiah  7.  1,  2  for  a  description  of  the  con- 
sternation into  which  Judah  was  thrown  by  the  proposed 
attack.  Ahaz  could  not  be  forced  into  an  attack  upon 
Assyria,  but  Elath  (2  Kings  16.  6)  was  captured  by  the 
Syrians. 

Ahaz  made  overtures  to  Assyria  to  come  to  his  relief. 
He  sent  messengers  to  Tiglath-pileser  and  voluntarily,  by 
the  payment  of  tribute,  acknowledged  Judah  to  be  a  de- 
pendency of  Assyria.  Read  2  Kings  16.  7-10.  The  Temple 
was  despoiled  of  many  treasures  to  pay  this  tribute,  and 
Ahaz  himself  went  to  Damascus  to  meet  Tiglath-pileser. 
The  appeal  of  Ahaz  to  Assyria  resulted  in  an  attack  by 

27 


28  THE  RELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

Assyria  upon  Syria  and  Israel.  The  northern  kingdom 
suffered  severely.  Many  towns  were  captured,  and  their 
inhabitants  were  deported  into  Assyria.     Read  2  Kings 

15.  29,  30  for  the  story  of  Israel's  humiliation.  This  was 
in  734  or  733  B.  C.  Damascus  was  captured  by  Assyria 
in  732  B.  C.  These  events  and  their  sequence  reveal  the 
remarkable  character  of  Isaiah's  statesmanship. 

Innovations  Introduced  by  Ahaz. — Examine  2  Kings 

16.  10-16.  The  interests  of  Ahaz  were  not  wholly  political. 
He  saw  an  altar  in  Damascus  whose  design  so  greatly 
pleased  him  that  orders  were  given  to  erect  a  duplicate 
in  the  Temple  at  Jerusalem.  On  his  return  Ahaz  conse- 
crated the  new  altar.  "The  brazen  altar  shall  be  for  me 
to  inquire  by"  (verse  15)  indicates  that  the  king  cus- 
tomarily performed  a  certain  class  of  sacrifices.  The  inno- 
vation of  Ahaz  is  not  easy  to  comprehend.  W.  R.  Smith 
believes  that  a  fireless  type  of  sacrifice  was  earlier  than  the 
offering  by  burning  the  sacrificial  portions;  that  in  the 
earlier  custom  the  blood  was  dashed  against  the  altar.  As 
long  as  burnt  offerings  were  rare,  it  was  not  necessary  to 
have  a  permanent  hearth-altar.  He  believes  that  this  new 
altar  was  a  "permanent  hearth-altar,"  and  that  the  innova- 
tion was  also  in  the  adoption  of  "the  rule  that  in  ordinary 
cases  this  new  altar  should  serve  for  the  blood  ritual  as 
well  as  for  the  fire  ritual."  Whatever  were  the  precise 
details  of  the  new  arrangement,  the  historian  regarded  the 
change  as  significant.  It  is  possible  that  the  interest  of 
Ahaz  in  the  ritual  indicates  that  the  popular  conception 
of  religion  demanded  greater  attention  to  the  ritual  as 
national  calamities  increased.  It  certainly  means  that 
the  great  altar  of  burnt  offering  found  in  the  succeeding 
Temple  was  a  foreign  importation.  It  is  of  much  interest 
also  that  at  this  period  the  king,  not  the  priest,  exercised 
absolute  control  over  the  Temple  and  its  worship. 

Isaiah's  Prophetic  Statesmanship 

Isaiah's  Message  to   Ahaz. — Examine   Isaiah   7.   3-17. 
Isaiah   opposed   the  alliance   with   Assyria   and   did   his 


ISAIAH  AND  THE  JUD/EAN  CRISIS         29 

utmost  to  convince  Ahaz  that  there  was  no  real  danger  to 
be  feared  from  Israel  and  Syria.  He  believed  himself 
the  direct  messenger  of  Jehovah  to  his  king  and  he  spoke 
with  unwavering  confidence  that  Jehovah  would  protect 
and  rescue  Judah  from  the  threatening  ills.  Observe  the 
method  taken  by  Isaiah  to  convince  Ahaz  that  he  ought 
to  trust  Jehovah  rather  than  Assyria.  If  this  purpose  of 
Isaiah  is  remembered,  verses  14-17  offer  little  difficulty. 
The  Hebrew  word  translated  "virgin^'  means  a  young 
woman  old  enough  to  become  a  mother.  Isaiah  urges  that 
Israel  and  Syria  can  be  only  a  brief  menace  to  Judah: 
that  before  a  woman — any  woman  now  marrying — can 
have  a  child  emerging  from  babyhood,  certain  things  will 
occur.  At  the  first  dawn  of  discriminating  intelligence — 
that  is,  within  two  or  three  years — the  lands  of  Samaria 
and  Damascus  will  be  overrun  by  a  foreign  power. 

But  this  is  not  all :  Judah  also  will  share  in  the  general 
calamity.  This  child — that  is,  any  child — within  two  or 
three  years,  on  account  of  the  desolations  of  war,  will  be 
limited  to  the  plain  fare  of  curds  and  honey.  Dire  days 
of  devastation  (verse  17)  are  falling  upon  Judah  also. 
It  is  quite  probable  that  Isaiah  was  already  aware  when 
he  met  Ahaz  or  guessed  the  truth  from  the  king's  conversa- 
tion that  an  alliance  was  to  be  made  with  Assyria  or 
already  liad  been  made.  To  the  prophet  such  utter  reli- 
ance upon  human  aid  was  a  rejection  of  Jehovah,  and  the 
moral  failure  of  the  house  of  Judah  to  trust  its  God  gave 
Isaiah  vision  to  foresee  the  inevitable  outcome  of  calling 
Assyrian  aid. 

Eead  Isaiah  7.  18-25.  It  is  probable  that  this  section 
was  a  part  of  Isaiali's  message  to  Ahaz  at  the  time  that 
he  predicted  the  defeat  of  the  coalition.  It  certainly  be- 
longs to  the  same  period.  Observe  that  Isaiah  becomes 
more  specific  in  his  statement  of  the  disasters  that  await 
Judah  from  the  false  statesmanship  of  Ahaz.  Note  that 
Egj'pt  and  Assyria  in  this  internecine  conflict  will  over- 
run Judah  and  fill  the  land  with  desolation.  Note  also  the 
examples  of  poverty  and  destruction  given  by  Isaiah. 

Isaiah's    Appeal    to    the    Populace. — Examine    Isaiah 


30  THE  RELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

8.  1-4.  Note  Isaiah's  method  of  making  a  public  appeal. 
Such  a  strange  message,  set  up  in  a  public  place — no  doubt 
in  the  court  of  the  Temple — gave  Isaiah  continual  oppor- 
tunity to  warn  and  encourage  the  people.  Notice  the 
parallel,  in  his  own  child,  of  the  Immanuel  prophecy  in 
7.  14-17. 

Isaiah's  Assurance  of  the  Approaching  Overthrow 
of  Syria  and  Israel. — Eead  Isaiah  17.  1-11.  This  oracle 
closely  followed  those  just  studied  and  was  intended  to 
relieve  the  strain  of  the  Syro-Ephraimitic  invasion. 
Assyria  is  not  expressly  stated  to  be  the  conqueror  of  the 
northern  states,  but  no  auditor  of  Isaiah  could  have  mis- 
understood him.  Observe  the  striking  images  of  desola- 
tion in  verses  5  and  6;  the  cause  of  Israel's  destruction, 
verses  10  and  11;  the  presence  of  the  cult  of  Adonis 
(Tammuz)  in  Israel,  whose  worship  included  the  cultiva- 
tion of  gardens  or  potted  plants  that  quickly  blossomed 
and  as  promptly  withered. 

Isaiah's  Counsel  Is  Rejected. — Isaiah's  warnings  fall 
unheeded  upon  court  and  people  alike.  Ahaz,  as  noted 
above,  enters  into  alliance  with  Assyria  and  so  forges 
the  bitter  bonds  of  vassalage  upon  the  southern  state.  This 
action  is  intolerably  grievous  to  Isaiah  as  a  patriot  and 
a  religionist.  Eead  Isaiah  8.  5-15.  Verse  6  may  be  ren- 
dered : 

''Because  this  people  have  rejected  the  waters  of  Shiloah 

that  flow  softly, 
And  are  dismayed  because  of  Rezin  and  Eemaliah's  son" 

''The  waters  of  Shiloah"  (the  Pool  of  Siloam,  once  within 
the  walls  of  the  city)  is  the  prophet's  metaphor  for  the  un- 
failing helpfulness  of  Jehovah.  Because  Ahaz  rejects 
Jehovah  and  trusts  Assyria,  Jehovah  will  overwhelm  Judah 
with  "the  waters  of  the  River" — that  is,  the  Assyrian 
armies.  In  verse  8  the  image  suddenly  changes  to  a  bird 
of  prey.  Isaiah  expects  the  Assyrian  to  be  victorious  over 
Syria  and  Israel  and  to  sweep  into  Judah  also.  But 
Judah  will  not  be  totally  destroyed.     Coalition  against 


V 


ISAIAH  AND  THE  JUD^AN  CRISIS         31 

Judah  and  revolts  against  Assyria  alike  will  be  of  no  avail. 
Other  nations  will  go  down  before  the  conqueror,  but 
Judah,  because  "God  is  with  us,''  will  survive.  What  the 
king  and  people  called  conspiracy,  and  before  which  they 
trembled,  Isaiah  saw  to  be  the  hand  of  Jehovah  laid 
inflictingly  upon  his  people.  Jehovah  of  hosts  is  Judah's 
Conspirator  (so  read  in  verse  13  instead  of  "him  shall  ye 
sanctity).  He  is  the  stumblingblock  for  the  two  king- 
doms. The  sins  and  the  headstrong,  worldly  policies  of 
the  Hebrew  states  inevitably  are  hastening  their  destruc- 
tion. 

Isaiah  feels  that,  since  his  counsel  is  rejected  by  Ahaz, 
his  public  usefulness,  at  least  temporarily,  is  at  an  end. 
Read  8.  16-18.  The  prophet  evidently  withdraws  from 
public  speech  and  from  any  attempt  to  guide  the  political 
destiny  of  his  country.  Undoubtedly  he  had  made  some 
disciples.  He  must  have  kept  in  touch  with  these  and 
waited  for  a  more  favorable  opportunity  to  resume  his 
public  ministry.  This  decision  was  hastened  by  the  popular 
rejection  of  true  prophetic  guidance.  The  people  turn, 
instead,  to  the  grossest  superstitions.  Examine  8.  19-22. 
Verses  19  and  20  may  be  translated: 

''When  they  say  unto  you.  Inquire  of  the  spirits  of  the 

dead. 
And  the  necromancers  who  chirp  and  mutter: 
Should  not  a  people  inquire  of  their  departed? 
On  behalf  of  the  living  should  they  not  consult  the  dead?" 

To  such  solicitation  of  the  distracted  and  frightened  people 
by  the  champions  of  superstition  Isaiah  thunders  his 
answer:  "To  the  instruction  and  the  testimony.''  Let 
them  go  to  the  prophets  of  whom  Amos  has  said  (3.  7), 
"Surely  the  Lord  Jehovah  will  do  nothing,  except  he  reveal 
his  secret  unto  his  servants  the  prophets."  Isaiah  felt  that 
for  those  who  listened  to  such  proposals  from  necromancers 
and  spiritualistic  mediums  the  future  was  dark  indeed. 
Verses  21  and  22  add  a  final  picture  of  desolation  and 
gloom. 


32  THE  RELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

Summary  of  Isaiah's  Religious  Views  in  This  Middle 
Period  of  His  Ministry 

Isaiah's  Political  Policy. — Isaiah  possessed  an  unwav- 
ering political  policy.  He  opposed  all  entangling  alliances 
with  foreign  powers.  An  alliance  with  Israel  and  Syria 
he  opposed  with  the  same  vigor  with  which  he  denounced 
any  affiliation  with  Egypt  and  Assyria.  The  little  states 
lying  between  Assyria  and  Egypt  lived  precariously. 
Isaiah  believed  that  Judah  should  ally  itself  with  Jehovah 
alone.    His  political  policy  was  essentially  religious. 

Beginning  his  ministry,  like  Amos  and  Hosea,  with  an 
overwhelming  sense  of  Jehovah^s  holiness,  he  severely  de- 
nounced the  social  sins  and  religious  defection  of  rulers 
and  people.  Like  these  earlier  prophets  Isaiah  at  first 
held  that  nothing  but  the  destruction  of  the  state  would 
eliminate  the  evils  that  were  undermining  the  social  order; 
but  as  the  rigors  of  the  Assyrian  vassalage  became  more 
apparent,  and  the  despair  of  people  and  court  grew  deeper, 
Isaiah  reached  a  turning  point  in  his  ministry  and  began 
to  preach  the  indestructibility  of  Jehovah's  people.  It 
seemed  incredible  to  him  that  Jehovah's  purpose  to  mold 
a  people  into  conformity  to  his  holy  will  could  be  accom- 
plished anywhere  outside  his  chosen  land.  That  Jehovah 
dwells  in  Mount  Zion  is  a  fixed  belief  of  the  prophet.  In 
this  belief  Isaiah  sets  a  limit  to  the  impending  judgment. 
This  had  not  been  done  by  Amos  and  was  uttered  vaguely 
by  Hosea.  Isaiah  asserts  that  in  the  coming  disaster 
Jehovah  will  preserve  all  that  is  necessary  to  make  possible 
the  quickening  of  the  nation  into  a  holy  people  of  God. 
Isaiah  does  not  predict  a  captivity.  Rather  is  the  state  to 
be  overwhelmed  by  the  Assyrian  invasion,  but  out  of  the 
ruins  a  new  social  order  is  to  arise  in  conformity  to 
Jehovah's  righteous  will. 

This  is  the  central  theme  of  Isaianic  prophecy.  Je- 
hovah will  not  suffer  his  people  to  be  utterly  destroyed. 
Read  again  8.  8  and  note  the  language  in  which  this  belief 
is  expressed.  Study  too,  in  the  light  of  this  conception 
of  a  faithful  remnant,  the  symbolic  name  of  Isaiah's  son 


ISAIAH  AND  THE  JUDJ^AN  CEISIS         33 

in  7.  3  (marginal  reading).  This  remnant  that  is  to  re- 
turn unto  Jehovah  is  not  some  happy  band  of  exiles  return- 
ing from  captivity  in  a  foreign  land,  but  earnest  citizens 
of  the  state,  purged  by  the  calamities  that  have  scourged 
the  nation,  who  seek  Jehovah,  and  whose  seeking  eventuates 
in  righteousness. 

The  Prophet's  Religious  Beliefs. — Like  Amos  and 
Hosea,  Isaiah  preaches  a  practical  monotheism.  He  asserts 
that  Jehovah  will  chastise  the  confederate  states  that  have 
assailed  Judah.  For  Isaiah  the  gods  of  Damascus  and 
Assyria  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  destiny  of  nations. 
Jehovah  rules  them  according  to  his  will.  "He  fills  the 
whole  earth  with  his  glory''  is  the  Isaianic  creed.  Isaiah 
laughs  at  the  idols.  God  is  not  merely  the  one  God  in 
the  affairs  of  the  world:  he  is  a  holy  God  whose  essential 
nature  is  righteousness.  Since  holiness  involves  devo- 
tion to  Jehovah,  expressed  in  justice  and  righteousness, 
Isaiah  saw  the  futility  of  the  prevailing  ritual  to  bring 
men  into  a  correct  relation  with  Jehovah. 

Consider  the  religious  faith  of  Isaiah.  It  never  is  an 
easy  task  to  pioneer  in  religion.  Undoubtedly  Isaiah  was 
familiar  with  the  utterances  of  Amos  and  Hosea,  but 
the  positions  taken  by  them  were  not  the  beliefs  of  the 
masses.  Their  messages  had  not  lightened  the  religious 
task  to  which  Isaiah  gave  himself.  Isaiah  swung  free 
from  the  prevailing  conceptions  of  Jehovah  and  from  the 
customary  worship  into  a  far  more  spiritual  conception 
of  God  and  of  his  requirements  from  man.  This  is  always 
the  work  of  genius  and  abounding  faith.  Not  every  modern 
conception  surpasses  the  old,  but  it  takes  more  faith  to 
move  forward  into  a  new  realization  of  the  character  and 
purposes  of  God  than  to  hold  fast  to  the  achievements 
of  the  fathers. 

The  prophet  Isaiah  is  characterized  by  his  faith.  He 
believed  in  a  nobler  duty  than  did  his  contemporaries;  he 
believed  in  the  value  of  chastisement;  he  believed  in  a  new 
social  order.  For  this  faith  he  lived  and  for  it  he  would 
have  died.  He  hesitated  at  no  defense  of  his  faith  and 
shrank  from  no  chance  to  proclaim  his  great  convictions. 


34  THE  RELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

Thoughts  foe  Kingdom  Builders 

The  Isaiah  who  declared  of  Jehovah,  "The  whole  earth 
is  full  of  his  glory,"  also  wrote,  "Jehovah  of  hosts,  who 
dwelleth  in  mount  Zion."  It  is  one  of  the  difficult  tasks 
for  thought  to  present  adequately  the  universal  regnancy 
of  the  heavenly  Father  and  at  the  same  time  to  be  aware  of 
his  presence  in  a  unique  way  in  the  immediate  concerns  of 
the  individual  life.  Yet  there  is  no  great  religion  apart 
from  such  faith.  We  cannot  hold  a  satisfactory  sense  of 
God's  comradeship  with  us  unless  we  enthrone  him  as  the 
master  will  of  the  universe.  God  cannot  dwell  adequately 
for  human  needs  in  Jerusalem  unless  he  fills  also  the  whole 
earth.  He  cannot  share  his  throne  and  sway  the  world. 
God  never  has  abdicated  in  favor  of  the  devil. 

"I  and  the  children  whom  Jehovah  hath  given  me  are 
for  signs  and  for  wonders  in  Israel  from  Jehovah  of  hosts" 
(8.  18),  said  Isaiah  to  his  countrymen.  Let  any  man 
make  himself  and  his  household  a  manifestation  of  the 
purposes  of  God,  and  he  becomes  an  intellectual  and  moral 
leader  in  his  community.  Any  religious  man  should  re- 
gard himself  as  a  point  of  contact  between  God's  thought 
and  human  society.  Each  man  who  prays,  "Thy  kingdom 
come,"  to  be  sincere  must  make  his  own  life  a  highway  for 
the  coming  King. 

Possibly  you  have  come  in  contact  with  persons  who 
have  resented  the  implied  or  spoken  judgment  of  your 
Christian  discipleship.  It  is  well  to  remember  that  when 
purity  of  life,  fine  sympathy,  and  sterling  integrity  in  all 
engagements  are  coupled  with  vigorous  faith,  there  is  little 
honest  adverse  criticism  with  regard  to  the  most  earnest 
propaganda  of  your  religious  convictions.  Ahaz  and  his 
court  did  not  yield  to  Isaiah's  evangel  but  they  respected 
the  messenger.  Isaiah's  life  had  been  purged  by  a  vision 
of  Jehovah's  righteousness  before  he  addressed  his  coun- 
trymen. If  you  have  been  quickened  by  an  experience  of 
God  and  hold  radiant  ideals  of  the  ought-to-be,  you  are 
accursed  unless  you  seek  to  bring  other's  to  the  dawn  that 
has  arisen  in  your  own  soul. 


ISAIAH  AND  THE  JUD^AN  CRISIS         35 

Becoming  Acquainted  With  Isaiah 

1.  What  is  known  concerning  the  personal  life  of  Isaiah? 

2.  What  political  dangers  from  abroad  threatened  Judah? 

3.  What  was  Isaiah's  doctrine  concerning  foreign  political 
alliances?  Why  did  he  object  to  an  alliance  with  Israel  and 
Syria?  Why  did  he  oppose  any  acknowledgment  of  the  As- 
syrian? 

4.  What  was  the  religious  basis  of  his  political  policy? 

5.  What  effort  did  he  make  to  dissuade  Ahaz  from  appealing 
to  Assyria  for  relief  from  the  Syro-Ephraimitic  invasion? 

6.  What  were  some  of  the  prevailing  religious  beliefs  and 
usages,  and  what  was  Isaiah's  attitude  toward  them? 

7.  What  change  did  Isaiah  make  in  his  beliefs  about  the 
destruction  of  Judah?    What  were  his  reasons  for  this  change? 

8.  In  what  way  did  Isaiah's  beliefs  vary  from  those  of  Amos 
and  Hosea? 

Selected  Readings 

Old-Testament  History,  Smith,  pages  225-37. 

Article,  "Isaiah,"  in  Dictionary  of  the  Bible,  Hastings, 
Sections  II  and  VI. 

Isaiah:  His  Life  and  Times,  Driver,  Chapter  IV. 

Isaiah  in  "The  Expositor's  Bible,"  G.  A.  Smith,  Book  I, 
Chapter  VI. 


CHAPTER  IV 
ISAIAH  AND  THE  ASSYRIAN  INVASION 

Thirty  years  intervene  between  the  subjection  of  Judah 
to  Assyria  by  Ahaz  in  735  B.  C.  and  the  Assyrian  invasion 
of  Judah  in  regard  to  which  the  prophecies  of  Isaiah  reach 
their  climax  of  political  statesmanship  and  of  denuncia- 
tion and  hope  for  Judah.  Great  political  events  take  place 
in  this  period.  Samaria,  capital  of  the  northern  kingdom, 
after  a  long  siege  succumbed  to  the  army  of  Sargon,  king 
of  Assyria,  in  721  B.  C.  The  destruction  of  Israel  stirred 
Judah  as  no  other  fact  in  her  history  had  done.  The  inept 
policy  of  Ahaz  became  apparent  to  all,  and  the  soundness 
of  Isaiah's  counsel  to  keep  free  from  Assyria  was  fully 
acknowledged. 

Succeeding  events  increased  Judah's  fear  of  Assyria. 
In  720  some  of  the  Philistine  cities,  supported  by  Egypt, 
revolted  from  Assyria  and  were  severely  punished  by  Sar- 
gon. It  became  continually  more  apparent  that  the 
Assyrian  threatened  the  very  existence  of  all  the  little 
states  in  Syria  and  Palestine.  During  the  next  ten  years 
Sargon  was  busy  in  other  portions  of  his  empire;  and 
Judah,  growing  restive  under  the  annual  tribute,  de- 
veloped an  Egyptian  party,  whose  members  lent  them- 
selves to  hopes  and  suggestions  of  an  alliance  of  western 
states,  supported  by  Egypt,  to  throw  off  the  sovereignty  of 
the  Assyrian.  Sargon  crushed  the  movement  by  the  cap- 
ture of  Ashdod  in  711  B.  C. 

Isaiah's  messages  during  these  thirty  years  were  di- 
rected toward  keeping  Judah  faithful  to  Assyria,  to  pre- 
dictions of  Assyria's  ultimate  overthrow,  to  denuncia- 
tions of  Judah's  sins,  and  to  promises  of  better  days  in 
the  little  state.  The  following  sermons  of  Isaiah  are 
exceedingly  difficult  to  place  in  exact  chronological  order. 

36 


ISAIAH  AND  THE  ASSYRIAN  INVASION    37 

The  arrangement  here  adopted  offers  as  few  diflBculties 
as  any. 

The  First  Years  of  the  Eeign  of  Hezekiah 

Hezekiah,  the  son  of  Ahaz,  came  to  the  throne  of  Judah 
in  715  B.  C.  (some  think  as  early  as  720  B.  C).  An  in- 
teresting narrative  of  the  sickness  and  recovery  of  Heze- 
kiah is  presented  in  2  Kings  20.  1-11.  At  about  the  same 
time,  perhaps  in  71-1  B.  C,  came  the  embassy  from  Mero- 
dach-baladan.  Examine  2  Kings  20.  12-19  and  Isaiah 
39.  1-8.  Merodach-baladan,  the  king  of  a  small  state  at 
the  head  of  the  Persian  Gulf,  seized  Babylon  in  721  B.  C. 
and  held  the  throne  against  the  Assyrians  for  eleven  years. 
Evidently  it  was  during  this  period  that  he  sought  an  alli- 
ance with  Judah  against  Assyria.  Hezekiah,  restless  under 
Assyria,  received  the  embassy,  but  the  opposition  of  Isaiah 
and  his  own  best  counsels  kept  him  from  the  peril  of  the 
proposed  alliance. 

Isaiah  28.  7-22  is  a  stinging  reproof  of  the  social  life 
and  political  outlook  of  priests  and  princes.  This  charac- 
terization of  the  internal  conditions  of  Judah  faithfully 
reports  the  evils  prevailing  during  a  decade  and  more 
preceding  the  invasion  of  Sennacherib.  Drunkenness  had 
become  a  curse.  Even  at  the  religious  feasts  men  became 
"soused.''^  No  longer  do  the  prophets  possess  a  true  vision 
of  Jehovah's  ways,  and  the  drunken  priests  fail  to  pro- 
nounce just  judgments.  These  leaders,  whom  Isaiah  seeks 
to  rouse  from  this  disastrous  vice,  mockingly  retort  that 
he  prattles  like  a  child  (verses  9  and  10),  saying  the  same 
senseless  words  over  and  over.  Isaiah  replies  to  their 
taunt  that  a  people  speaking  a  foreign  tongue — for  them 
the  jargon  they  ascribe  to  the  prophet — will  deliver  Je- 
hovah's judgments  upon  them.  In  the  latter  part  of  this 
section  Isaiah  rebukes  the  political  leaders  who  think  that 
in  political  scheming  the  safety  of  Jerusalem  lies.  In 
justice  and  righteousness  and  in  the  trust  of  Jehovah  lies 
the  opportunity  of  Judah's  escape  from  the  aggressions 
of  powerful  neighbors. 

Eead  Isaiah  20.  1-6.    As  early  as  711  B.  C,  an  alliance 


38  THE  RELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

with  Egypt  became  the  policy  of  the  Palestinian  states 
in  order  to  free  themselves  from  Assyria.  But  it  was  not 
until  708  that  Egypt  was  in  position  to  render  any  effective 
aid  against  Assyria.  The  revolt  of  Ashdod  in  711  was 
severely  punished  by  Sargon.  In  this  section  Isaiah,  in  a 
very  expressive  manner,  sets  forth  the  folly  of  any  attempt 
to  discard  the  Assyrian  yoke  and  the  impossibility  of 
placing  any  reliance  upon  Egypt. 

Sargon  was  assassinated  in  705  B.  C,  and  his  son  Sen- 
nacherib came  to  the  Assyrian  throne.  The  death  of  this 
great  military  leader  was  the  signal  of  revolt  throughout 
his  empire.  Phoenician  and  Philistine  cities,  encour- 
aged by  Egypt,  threw  off  the  foreign  yoke;  and  the 
Egyptian  party  in  Jerusalem,  against  the  remonstrances 
of  Isaiah,  succeeded  in  winning  Hezekiah  to  join  the 
rebellion. 

Pkophecies  Against  an  Alliance  With   Egypt 

Examine  Isaiah  29.  15-21.  At  the  time  that  this  oracle 
was  uttered,  those  leaders  in  Judah  who  thought  to  escape 
from  the  rigors  of  the  Assyrian  by  an  alliance  with  Egypt 
were  secretly  plotting  this  transfer  of  allegiance.  Such 
counsel  is  sure  to  fail.  It  is  against  the  plans  of  Jehovah. 
The  clay  might  as  well  ignore  the  potter  as  the  people  of 
Judah  their  God.  Let  them  trust  Jehovah,  and  the  "ter- 
rible one'' — that  is,  the  Assyrian — will  be  "brought  to 
nought.'' 

Study  Isaiah  30.  1-7.  The  secret  leaning  toward  Egypt 
has  become  an  open  policy.  Emissaries  with  rich  presents 
have  been  sent  by  Hezekiah  to  Egypt.  Observe  the  man- 
ner in  which  Isaiah  denounces  this  embassy.  It  is  an 
added  sin  to  Judah's  already  overdrawn  account  in  the 
patience  of  Jehovah.  Not  to  have  counseled  with  Jehovah's 
prophets,  not  to  have  followed  their  advice,  is  the  certain 
assurance  that  the  project  will  fail.  Notice  the  fine  scorn 
of  the  phrase  "to  take  refuge  in  the  shadow  of  Egypt!" 

Eead  Isaiah  31.  1-9.  This  is  a  strong  but  tender  plea 
that  Judah  will  not  turn  to  Egypt  in  order  to  be  freed 
from  Assyria.     "The  Egyptians  are  men,  and  not  God." 


ISAIAH  AND  THE  ASSYRIAN  INVASION    39 

Jehovah  alone  can  save  Judah  from  Assyria.  He  will 
fight  on  Mount  Zion  like  a  lioness  for  her  young.  As  a 
mother  bird  protects  her  offspring,  so  Jehovah  will  hover 
over  Jerusalem.  "Turn  unto  Jehovah,  against  whom  you 
have  deeply  revolted/'  urges  Isaiah ;  "put  away  your  idols, 
and  then  shall  the  sword  of  Jehovah  be  lifted  against  the 
Assyrian,  and  you  shall  be  free.'' 

Pkophecies  Dealing  With  Assyria 

Examine  Isaiah  29.  1-8.  To  understand  this  section 
and,  indeed,  the  entire  group  of  oracles  studied  in  this 
chapter,  it  must  be  kept  in  mind  that  Isaiah,  during  the 
latter  years  of  his  life,  had  two  objectives  constantly  before 
him.  These  were  (1)  to  prevent  Judah  from  throwing 
off  the  Assyrian  yoke  to  join  an  alliance  led  by  Egypt 
and  (2)  to  assure  his  countrymen  that  loyalty  to  Jehovah 
would  lead  them  safely  through  every  affliction.  The  pre- 
ceding chapter  narrates  the  attitude  of  Isaiah  toward  the 
Assyrian  alliance  when  it  was  initiated  by  Ahaz.  He  had 
opposed  that  policy  with  all  his  might.  But  once  it  had 
been  adopted,  he  continually  counseled  loyalty  to  Assyria. 
He  clearly  foresaw  the  disastrous  consequences  of  revolt. 
Judah  apart  from  Jehovah's  aid  was  too  weak  to  contend 
with  Assyria.  Patient  bearing  of  the  Assyrian  yoke  and 
renewed  consecration  to  Jehovah  would  eventuate  in  Je- 
hovah's interference  in  their  behalf.  The  rescue  of  Judah 
from  Assyria  depended  on  loyalty  to  Jehovah. 

Eead  29.  1-5,  which  expresses  Isaiah's  grief  at  the  pro- 
posed rebellion  against  Assyria  and  his  prediction  of  its 
consequences.  "Ariel"  probably  means  "altar-hearth,"  at 
which  sacrifices  are  offered.  The  whole  city  will  become 
an  altar,  and  its  sacrificial  victims  will  be  the  inhabitants 
slain,  as  the  result  of  a  false  political  policy,  by  Assyrian 
armies.  The  city,  humiliated  by  the  afflictions  of  the  con- 
quest, will  speak  humbly,  like  the  tones  of  the  necroman- 
cer. But  this  severe  visitation  will  not  be  lasting.  The 
Assyrian  invasion  is  indeed  a  visitation  from  Jehovah ;  but 
the  thunder,  the  earthquake,  the  whirlwind,  the  tempest, 
and  the  fire,  which  ho  directs  against  Jerusalem  (29.  5-8), 


40  THE  EELIGION  OP  JUDAH 

shall  pass,  and  Judah's  foes,  having  accomplished  Jeho- 
vah's purposes,  shall  be  no  more  than  ^^a  vision  of  the 
night." 

Isaiah  10.  6-27,  written  about  703  B.  C,  continues  the 
prophet's  oracles  concerning  Assyria.  Notice  the  view  that 
Isaiah  takes  of  the  coming  invasion  of  Judah  by  the 
Assyrian  armies.  Assyria  is  the  rod  of  Jehovah  to  smite 
Judah.  Why  does  Jehovah  visit  this  affliction  upon  Judah  ? 
What  condemnation  is  passed  upon  Assyria  ?  The  student 
will  note  again  Isaiah's  teaching  that  Judah  needs  chas- 
tisement for  her  faithlessness  to  Jehovah,  but  that  the 
nation  shall  not  be  overwhelmed  utterly.  What  does 
Isaiah  mean  by  "the  Light  of  Israel"  and  "the  Holy  One 
of  Israel"?  What  further  statement  is  made  concerning 
the  Isaian  doctrine  of  "the  remnant"  ?  Does  Isaiah  expect 
an  exile  for  Judah,  under  Sennacherib,  such  as  Samaria 
experienced  under  Sargon? 

For  a  clearer  view  of  the  historical  situation  that  called 
forth  Isaiah's  utterances  at  this  period  2  Kings  18.  13-16 
must  be  studied.  The  events  described  took  place  in  701 
B.  C.  The  Assyrian  invasion  here  narrated  and  the  tribute 
paid  are  corroborated  by  the  Taylor  Cylinder,  a  contem- 
porary Assyrian  account  of  Sennacherib's  victories.  After 
enumerating  the  conquests  among  the  Hittites,  Phoenicians, 
and  certain  Philistine  cities  the  record  runs:  "I  drew 
near  to  Ekron;  Padi,  their  king  [whom  his  rebellious 
subjects  had  deposed,  because  he  was  loyal  to  Assyria,  and 
had  turned  over  to  Hezekiah,  the  chief  of  the  confederacy, 
for  safe-keeping],  I  brought  out  of  Jerusalem  and  set 
him  again  upon  their  throne.  And  of  Hezekiah,  the 
Judsean,  who  had  not  submitted  to  my  yoke,  forty-six 
strong  cities  with  walls,  the  smaller  cities  which  were 
around  them  without  number,  by  the  battering  of  rams 
and  the  assault  of  engines,  the  attack  of  foot  soldiers, 
mines,  breaches,  and  axes,  I  besieged  and  captured  them. 
Two  hundred  thousand  one  hundred  and  fifty  men,  young 
and  old,  male  and  female,  horses,  mules,  asses,  camels, 
oxen  and  sheep  without  number,  I  brought  out  from  them 
and  counted  as  booty.     [Hezekiah]  himself  I  shut  up  like 


ISAIAH  AND  THE  ASSYRIAN  INVASION    41 

a  caged  bird  within  Jerusalem,  his  royal  cily.  I  cast  up 
intrenchments  against  him,  and  whomsoever  came  forth 
from  the  gate  of  his  city  I  punished.  His  cities  which  I 
had  plundered  I  separated  from  his  land  and  gave  them 
to  Mitinti,  king  of  Ashdod,  Padi  of  Ekron,  and  Sillibel 
of  Gaza.  Besides  the  former  taxes  paid  yearly  I  added 
tribute  and  presents.  As  for  Hezekiah  the  fear  of  the 
majesty  of  my  dominion  overwhelmed  him,  and  his  troops 
deserted.  With  thirty  talents  of  gold  [and]  eight 
hundred  talents  of  silver,  precious  stones,  couches 
and  seats  of  ivory,  elephant  hide,  ivory,  heavy 
treasure,  and  his  daughters,  the  women  of  his 
palace,  male  musicians,  female  musicians,  he  dispatched 
after  me  to  Nineveh,  my  capital.  He  sent  his  ambassador 
to  give  tribute  and  make  submission."  (Cuneiform  Par- 
allels to  the  Old  Testament,  Rogers,  page  343f.  condensed). 
The  passage  2  Kings  18.  17  to  19.  8  is  a  supplementary 
Biblical  account  to  be  read  in  this  connection.  The  appeal 
to  Isaiah  is  the  turn  of  the  tide  of  the  prophet's  influence 
with  the  court.  Note  the  confidence  of  Isaiah  that  Jeru- 
salem, guarded  by  Jehovah,  is  impregnable,  and  that  the 
Assyrian,  in  spite  of  his  boasting,  is  under  the  control  not 
of  Assyrian  deities  but  of  Jehovah.  The  account  of  the 
discomfiture  of  the  Assyrian  army  given  in  2  Kings 
19.  10-37  is  best  explained  by  supposing  a  second  western 
campaign  of  Sennacherib. 

Study  Isaiah  10.  28-32.  This  section  was  uttered  after 
the  Assyrian  army  was  on  the  march  to  punish  the  rebel- 
lious western  states  and  before  the  submission  of  Hezekiah 
narrated  above.  It  was  spoken  before  the  exact  line  of 
Sennacherib's  march  was  known.  Isaiah  rightly  knew  that 
upon  Judah  especially  would  the  Assyrian  vengeance  fall. 
Observe  that  each  succeeding  site  mentioned  brings  the 
invader  nearer  Jerusalem,  and  that  Nob  is  within  sight 
of  the  city  walls.  Examine  17.  12-14  and  observe  the 
mingled  terror  and  comfort;  state  the  language  in  which 
each  is  expressed. 

Turn  now  to  Isaiah  30.  27-33.  This  section  expresses 
Isaiah's  final  message  concerning  Assyria.     Jehovah  takes 


4:2  THE  EELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

up  the  cause  of  beleaguered  Judah.    Assyria  will  be  broken 
in  pieces,  and  Judah  will  be  filled  with  rejoicing. 

Pkophecies  Dealing  With  Internal  Conditions  in 
Judah  From  705  to  701  B.  C. 

Isaiah  29.  9-14. — Here  Isaiah  severely  rebukes  the  citi- 
zens of  Jerusalem  for  their  failure  to  understand  the 
political  and  religious  conditions  of  the  day.  Gay  and 
careless,  they  do  not  comprehend  the  menace  from  Assyria ; 
devoted  to  the  ritual  worship  and  wanting  in  moral  insight 
and  conscience,  they  offer  Jehovah  no  more  than  a  vain 
service  of  the  lips.  This  message  was  uttered  about  703 
B.  C. 

Isaiah  30.  8-17. — The  people  will  have  none  of  true 
prophetic  guidance.  To  be  popular  the  prophets  must 
declare  smooth  things.  The  truth  the  people  will  not  hear. 
"Let  us  hear  no  more  concerning  the  Holy  One  of  Israel" 
is  their  rebuke  of  the  prophet. 

Isaiah  32.  9-14. — Frivolous  women  of  the  wealthy  class 
are  here  upbraided  for  their  thoughtless,  worthless  life. 
The  day  comes  when  their  gay  laughter  shall  be  turned  into 
mourning  for  the  devastated  vineyards  and  fields.  Here 
is  another  one  of  Isaiah's  fine  etchings  of  the  social  life 
of  Jerusalem  in  the  days  of  peril.  This  warning  was 
uttered  within  a  year  or  two  of  Sennacherib's  invasion. 

Isaiah  22.  1-14. — Here  too  the  citizens  of  Jerusalem 
are  shown  utterly  callous  to  the  danger  threatening  them. 
At  a  time  when  they  should  be  in  deep  contrition  and 
mourning  in  the  face  of  impending  disaster,  the  city  is 
full  of  feasting,  drinking,  and  merrymaking.  Observe  the 
manner  in  which  the  gayety  of  the  people  expresses  itself. 
It  was  in  this  spirit  that  Judah  was  caught  by  the  advance 
of  Sennacherib. 

Sennacherib  in  Palestine 

Examine  very  carefully  2  Kings  18.  13  to  19.  37.  Here 
we  have  three  accounts  of  the  dealing  of  Sennacherib  with 
Jerusalem  and  Hezekiah.  Without  doubt  the  best  view  is 
to  regard  the  narrative  of  18,  13-16  as  corresponding  with 


ISAIAH  AND  THE  ASSYRIAN  INVASION    43 

the  account  of  his  campaign  given  by  Sennacherib  (see 
page  40).  The  passages  18.  17  to  19.  9  and  19.  9-37 
appear  to  be  parallel  accounts  of  the  same  attempt  of  Sen- 
nacherib to  induce  Hezekiah  to  surrender  Jerusalem.  Since 
he  was  not  successful  in  this  endeavor  Sennacherib  was  not 
likely  to  make  a  record  of  his  failure.  Note  the  religious 
ideas  in  the  first  of  these  accounts.  The  emissaries  of 
Sennacherib  urge  that  the  citizens  of  Jerusalem  should 
not  depend  on  Jehovah  to  deliver  them  from  the  power 
of  Assyria.  Jehovah,  they  claim,  is  angered  because 
Hezekiah  has  torn  down  his  altars  upon  the  high  places 
of  the  countryside.  Is  he  more  powerful,  they  ask,  than 
the  gods  of  other  nations  that  have  succumljed  to  the  might 
of  Sennacherib?  They  urge  also  that  Sennacherib  is  the 
servant  of  Jehovah  sent  to  punish  Judah.  The  demand 
to  surrender  the  city  sorely  tried  Hezekiah.  Perhaps  with- 
out the  strong  faith  of  Isaiah  asserting  that  Jehovah  would 
save  the  city  and  would  destroy  the  invading  army  Hezekiah 
would  have  yielded.  Never  was  Isaiah's  faith  put  to  greater 
test,  and  never  was  he  more  completely  vindicated. 

Summary 

Isaiah's  teaching  up  to  this  year  of  calamity  and  de- 
liverance (701  B.  C.)  may  be  stated  thus:  Jehovah  is 
the  Holy  One  of  Israel ;  this  holiness  consists  in  righteous- 
ness and  justice;  and  these  qualities  he  demands  from 
Judah.  The  nation  must  put  away  its  idols  (2.  8)  and 
its  dependence  on  ritual  worship  (1.  11-15)  and  practice 
righteousness.  This  righteousness  is  to  admonish  the  op- 
pressor, to  obtain  justice  for  the  orphan,  to  plead  the 
widow's  cause.  The  state  is  rotten  with  drunkenness  (28. 
7),  murder  (1.  21),  bribery  (1.  23),  licentious  worship 
(1.  29),  and  superstitions  (3.  3).  Its  princes  are  thieves 
(1.  23),  and  its  priests  drunken  knaves  (28.  7).  All  these 
evils  must  be  purged  away,  and  Jerusalem  must  become  the 
city  of  righteousness  (1.  27).  The  crowning  political 
folly  of  Judah  was  her  alliance  with  Assyria.  This  final 
defection  from  Jehovah  could  issue  only  in  national  hu- 
miliation.   This  humiliation  was  hastened  by  the  rebellion 


44  THE  EELIGIOX  OF  JUDAH 

of  Hezekiah.  Assyria  now  becomes  Jehovah's  instrument 
of  chastisement  (10.  5).  But  after  Judah  is  reduced  to 
the  verge  of  dissolution,  a  remnant  within  the  nation  will 
return  unto  Jehovah — that  is,  seek  him  with  that  reverence 
and  righteousness  which  alone  can  commend  the  people 
to  the  Holy  One;  and  Assyria,  the  instrument  of  punish- 
ment and,  indirectly,  of  the  nation's  return  to  righteous- 
ness, in  its  turn  shall  be  crushed  for  its  cruelties  and  inso- 
lence (10.  12-15). 

The  invincibility  of  Jerusalem,  Jehovah's  sanctuary,  is 
Isaiah's  chief  contribution  to  the  political  history  of  his 
people.  Not  only  did  the  prophet's  faith  sustain  Heze- 
kiah in  the  state's  darkest  hour,  but  this  creed  became  of 
much  religious  significance  in  later  years.  It  lies  at  the 
root  of  Jewish  ^lessianism.  The  belief  itself  is  a  part  of 
the  conviction  that  Jehovah  is  the  builder  of  an  earthly 
kingdom  of  righteousness.  Such  a  kingdom  must  have  a 
capital,  and  there  is  no  other  than  the  city  of  David  to  be 
Jehovah's  throne.  We  shall  study  expressions  of  this  belief 
in  later  chapters. 

Isaiah,  like  Amos  and  Hosea,  denounced  the  ritual  that 
would  permit  murderers  to  approach,  unchallenged,  Je- 
hovah's sanctuaries  (1.  15,  16).  Such  worship  was  rotten  to 
the  roots  and  must  be  put  away.  The  nearer  the  Assyrian 
affliction  came  to  Jerusalem,  the  more  splendid  became  the 
worship.  But  it  was  all  in  vain.  Jehovah  cries  out  in 
Isaiah  that  he  hates  the  whole  religious  program  of  Judah 
(1.  14)  and  that  he  will  no  more  accept  such  unmeaning 
worship  (1.  15).  Here  we  have  again  the  clash  of  the 
priestly  and  the  prophetic  ideal  of  religion  and  worship. 
To-day  we  are  sure  that  the  prophets  were  the  men  of  vi- 
sion. Blood  of  bullocks  cannot  be  wanted  by  an  ethical 
Deity.  Incense  is  never  a  substitute  for  righteous  living. 
This  is  the  mighty  ethical  reorganization  of  religion  which 
it  is  Isaiah's  glory  to  have  accomplished  for  the  whole 
world.  Religion  ever  will  be  haunted  by  this  ideal  of 
ethical  holiness;  and  whenever  the  moral  vision  lights 
upon  the  most  distant  son  of  man,  he  Avill  be  debtor  to 
Isaiah,  inhabitant  of  Jerusalem,  but  citizen  of  the  world. 


ISAIAH  AND  THE  ASSYRIAN  INVASION    45 

For  Kingdom  Builders  To-Day 

Religion  Versus  Magic. — Think  of  the  vision  of  Isaiah. 
In  a  day  when  his  countrymen  were  dragging  bullocks, 
rams,  and  goats  to  a  sanctuary  to  splash  their  blood  upon 
an  altar  of  Jehovah,  Isaiah  saw  that  religion  is  com- 
radeship with  God  or  it  is  nothing.  No  lamb  can  take 
away  the  sin  of  the  world.  No  spilled  blood  can  set  a  man 
in  comradeship  with  God. 

^^The  sacrifices  of  God  are  a  broken  spirit : 
A  broken  and  a  contrite  heart,  0  God,  thou  wilt  not  de- 
spise.^' 

Nothing  less  than  the  seeker  after  righteousness  can  draw 
near  a  righteous  Deity.    God  cannot  be  bribed  by  a  present. 

The  highest  worship  to  be  paid  an  ethical  Deity  is  to 
imitate  his  character.  "Shall  two  walk  together,  except  they 
have  agreed  ?''  Christ  calls  us  not  primarily  to  believe  in 
him  but  to  believe  with  him.  "If  any  man  would  come  after 
me,  let  him  .  .  .  take  up  his  cross,  and  follow  me.''  Let 
him  have  his  wilderness  experience,  his  Galilean  ministry, 
his  intimate  brotherhood,  his  Pharisaic  antagonisms,  his 
Gethsemane,  his  Golgotha.  Let  him  have  these,  and  he  will 
have  his  slopes  of  Bethany. 

It  is  ever  a  tendency  in  man  to  confuse  magic  with 
religion,  to  burn  incense  rather  than  to  purge  the  heart, 
to  trust  to  external  mechanism  rather  than  the  sanitation 
of  the  soul.  No  man's  character  ever  was  changed  by  an 
application  of  water,  however  sacred  the  priest  declared  the 
water  to  be.  A  vicious  business  or  a  worldly  life  is  not 
atoned  for  by  a  contribution  to  church  or  charity.  Violated 
treaties  are  not  set  right  by  donations  of  gold.  The  lust 
that  overleaps  the  marriage  vow  is  not  less  hideous  because 
of  loveliness  of  disposition.  Nothing  deals  adequately  with 
sin  but  repentance  and  a  new  life. 

The  Test  of  Greatness. — Perhaps  the  greatness  of  a 
man  is  tested  as  in  no  other  manner  by  the  way  he  treats 
powerful  enemies  who  succumb  to  defeat  and  humiliation. 
After  Ahaz  had  reduced  Judah  to  vassalage,  Isaiah  steadily 


46  THE  RELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

counseled  loyalty  to  Assyria.  This  course  made  him  many 
enemies.  His  powerful  opponents,  blind  to  the  disastrous 
consequences  of  their  action,  were  able  to  force  a  break 
with  Assyria.  Isaiah  had  done  his  utmost  to  preserve  the 
nationality  of  Judah.  He  was  set  aside  by  worldly-wise 
politicians.  But  in  the  hour  of  their  sad  discomfiture  Isaiah 
ceases  remonstrance  and  denunciation.  His  city  and  na- 
tion are  imperiled.  The  honor  of  Jehovah  is  at  stake. 
For  Isaiah  country  is  greater  than  party ;  the  cause  is  dearer 
than  the  humiliation  of  individuals  arrayed  against  it. 
Isaiah  now  summons  all  his  resources  of  faith  and  influ- 
ence to  infuse  his  countrymen  with  confidence  and  cour- 
age. Animosities  are  forgotten.  Only  the  integrity  of 
the  state  and  Jehovah^s  purposes  are  remembered  in  the 
dark  hour  when  Jerusalem  is  besieged. 

This  is  true  greatness.  The  great  man  cannot  be 
insulted  or  humiliated.  His  soul  is  wrapped  up  in  his 
cause.  For  it  he  endures  everything.  He  does  not  dis- 
own his  church  because  some  member  mistreats  him. 
Because  some  servant  of  an  institution  or  public  move- 
ment betrays  his  trust,  he  does  not  forsake  the  enter- 
prise. Because  self-seeking  politicians  or  economists  nar- 
rowly oppose  ideas  and  methods  of  progress,  he  does 
not  lose  faith  in  the  possibility  of  a  better  civilization, 
nor  does  he  cease  his  efforts  to  usher  in  the  better  day. 
In  the  midst  of  the  grossest  materialism  and  social  ostra- 
cism he  can  keep  his  faith  and  lift  his  voice.  This  is  the 
greatness  of  the  man  whom  God  has  summoned  to  follow 
the  trail  of  righteousness  and  good  will. 

Nations  Are  the  Servants  of  God. — Nations  even 
like  Assyria  are  the  instruments  of  God.  A  striking  par- 
allel exists  between  Assyria  and  Germany.  Both  nations 
coveted  empire.  Both,  for  their  selfish  ends,  were  ready 
to  crush  small  states.  To  regard  either  empire  as  the 
servant  of  God  for  the  chastisement  of  worldliness  and 
sin  belongs  only  to  men  of  vision  and  faith.  Yet  history, 
read  by  epochs,  ministers  to  the  faith  that  it  is  God  who 
governs  nations.  Germany,  like  Assyria,  struck  savagely 
at  weaker  states,  yet  was  overwhelmed  in  defeat.     The 


ISAIAH  AND  THE  ASSYRIAN  INVASION    47 

war  was  God's  way  of  enunciating  that  right  is  might. 
He  has  shown  us,  through  our  dreadful  human  blundering, 
that  the  destiny  of  any  nation  is  indissolubly  intertwined 
with  the  destinies  of  all;  that  civilization,  in  order  not  to 
perish,  must  be  the  common  purpose  and  the  common 
struggle  of  all  nations.  The  nations  of  the  earth  con- 
stitute a  family.  Any  departure  from  virtue  and  recti- 
tude is  a  menace  and  a  disaster  to  all.  Nothing  less 
than  the  recognition  of  the  familyhood  of  nations  and 
races  can  make  possible  the  peace  and  progress  of  hu- 
manity. One  autocracy  renders  democracy  insecure.  One 
armed  lust  of  empire  sets  up  militarism  throughout  the 
world.  One  thief  compels  a  whole  community  to  lock 
its  doors.  This  is  the  great  lesson  of  God  taught  by  the 
world  war.  Like  Assyria,  Germany  taught  the  world  a 
great  lesson  through  vast  suffering.  Like  Assyria,  Ger- 
many, once  the  lesson  was  taught,  was  broken  and  hu- 
miliated. 

Interbogation  Points 

1.  Why  did  Isaiah  oppose  the  policy  which  made  Judah  a 
vassal  of  Assyria? 

2.  What  was  the  platform  of  the  Egyptian  party  in  Jeru- 
salem? 

3.  Why  did  Isaiah  oppose  their  policy? 

4.  Why  did  Isaiah  regard  Assyria  as  the  servant  of  Je- 
hovah? 

5.  What  were  the  sins  of  Judah  denounced  by  Isaiah? 

(5.  What  service  did  religion  render  politics  through  Isaiah? 

7.  What  did  the  prophet  mean  by  saying  of  certain  leaders 
in  Jerusalem  that  they  "have  not  asked  at  my  [Jehovah"^] 
mouth"?     (Isaiah  30.  2.) 

8.  In  his  early  sermons  Isaiah  apparently  contemplated  the 
destruction  of  Jerusalem.  When  and  why  did  he  change  his 
views? 

9.  What  elements  of  greatness  are  discoverable  in  Isaiah? 

10.  What  principles  of  government  and  religion  enunciated 
by  Isaiah  are  applicable  in  our  own  times? 

Foe  the  Deeply  Interested  Student 

The  Religion  of  Israel  to  the  Exile,  Budde,  pages  147-56. 
Jerusalem,  G.  A.  Smith,  Volume  II,  pages  148-80. 
Old-Testament  History,  Smith,  pages  238-52. 
Article,  "Isaiah,"  in  Encyclopedia  Biblica. 


CHAPTER  V 
ISAIAH  AND  THE  MESSIANIC  HOPE 

It  is  said  that  "hope  springs  eternal  in  the  human 
breast."  Certain  it  is  that  out  of  the  depths  of  oppres- 
sion and  defeat  there  have  sprung  up  the  brightest  Uto- 
pias. When  men  ceased  locating  their  golden  age  in 
the  past  and  began  to  peer  into  the  future  to  behold 
their  ideal  social  order,  a  turning  point  was  reached  in 
human  affairs.  Of  all  political  idealizations  the  Jewish 
Messianic  hope  has  been  the  most  productive  of  good, 
for  out  of  it  sprang  the  Christian  church  and  the  Chris- 
tian conception  of  the  kingdom  of  God. 

This  Messianic  hope  of  the  Jews  takes  its  first  definite 
shape  in  the  preaching  of  Isaiah.  Although  certain  ex- 
pectations of  his  never  were  realized,  he  enunciated  cer- 
tain principles  that  ever  remained  in  varying  propor- 
tions essentials  in  the  Jewish  dream  of  the  ideal  king- 
dom. 

Isaiah's  Doctrine  of  a  Faithful  Remnant 

That  Jehovah  is  a  righteous  and  sovereign  Deity  is 
fundamental  in  all  Isaiah^s  preaching.  His  call  to  the 
prophetic  office  was  inaugurated  by  a  vision  of  Jehovah's 
sovereign  holiness.  Such  a  Deity  cannot  tolerate  un- 
righteousness among  men.  He  will  therefore  punish  Is- 
rael, a  nation  peculiarly  his  own,  for  its  unrighteousness. 
This  visitation,  to  purge  the  land  of  evil,  in  the  earliest 
teaching  of  Isaiah  (6.  11,  12)  will  result  in  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  state.  It  will  be  impossible  for  the  people 
to  avert  this  scourging  judgment  by  renewed  devotion 
to  superstitions  and  foreign  religions  (28.  15)  or  by  po- 
litical arrangements  with  other  nations  (30.  1,  2;  31.  1). 
Read  the  strong  words  (28.  17-21)  in  which  Isaiah  de- 
clares that  the  purpose  of  Jehovah  to  vindicate  his  own 
righteousness  by  a  purging  judgment  is  unalterable. 

48 


ISAIAH  AND  THE  MESSIANIC  HOPE        49 

Not  long  after  Isaiah  began  his  ministry,  the  extent  of 
the  terrible  judgment  of  Jehovah  was  restricted  in  the 
thought  of  the  prophet.  He  named  his  oldest  son  Shear- 
jashub,  meaning  "A  remnant  shall  return."  Wherever 
the  boy  appeared  and  was  known  he  was  a  prediction  of 
judgment  and  also  of  hope.  This  remnant  was  to  be  com- 
posed of  those  in  Judah  who  turned  from  false  religion 
and  every  form  of  social  evil  to  imitate  Jehovah's  right- 
eousness. "He  that  remaineth  in  Jerusalem,  shall  be 
called  holy"  (4.  3).  This  remnant  evidently  was  re- 
garded by  Isaiah  as  forming  a  very  small  group  (6.  13; 
10.  22),  but  this  small  company  of  righteous  men  and 
women  will  become  the  stock  of  a  new  and  glorious 
state. 

Assyria  (10.  5)  is  Jehovah's  instrument  of  punishment. 
Jerusalem  will  be  besieged,  and  the  city's  slain  will  be  so 
numerous  that  it  will  seem  an  altar  of  sacrifice  upon  which 
the  citizens  are  being  offered  to  atone  for  Judah's  sins 
(29.  1-4).  But  in  the  midst  of  Assyria's  triumph  Jehovah 
will  arrest  the  work  of  destruction.  Jerusalem  will  not 
be  taken  (10.  12;  29.  7),  but,  on  the  contrary,  will  raise 
itself  aloft  again  in  proud  triumph  over  all  surrounding 
nations.  It  is  at  this  hour  of  its  punishment  and  de- 
liverance that  the  Messianic  age  will  be  ushered  in. 

Contents  of  Isaian  Messianism 

The  Intervention  of  Jehovah. — The  Messianic  hope, 
first  of  all,  was  the  belief  that  a  divine  order  would 
emerge  out  of  the  disorder  of  the  eighth-century  life  of  the 
Hebrew  states.  Previous  studies  have  shown  the  necessity 
of  the  monarchy  to  deliver  the  Hebrew  tribes  from  the 
chaotic  social  and  political  life  of  the  period  of  the  judges. 
But  the  later  history  of  the  kingship  did  not  fulfill  all 
the  hopes  of  those  prophets  who  had  championed  the  na- 
tionalistic program  of  the  earlier  sovereigns.  Foreign 
alliances  for  trade  and  war  produced  conditions  in  which 
sharply  contrasted  social  classes  were  formed  in  Israel 
and  Judah.    An  age  of  greed,  lust,  and  brutal  selfishness, 


50  THE  RELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

characteristic  alike  of  prince  and  priest,  was  the  curse 
of  the  two  kingdoms  in  the  eighth  century.  It  was  the 
mission  of  the  eighth-century  prophets  to  denounce  the 
social  disorders  of  their  times.  That  the  sins  of  Israel 
were  fast  leading  the  northern  kingdom  to  destruction 
was  the  unswerving  conviction  of  Amos.  Hosea  too  looked 
for  the  destruction  of  the  northern  state,  but  he  believed 
also  that  Jehovah's  love  would  be  able  to  find  some  way 
of  reestablishment  of  the  afflicted  people.  Hosea  2.  16-23 
presents  the  details  of  the  prophet's  hope  of  the  better 
days  to  follow  the  purging  judgment.  Israel  will  enjoy 
her  fruitful  vineyards  and  fields  in  peace,  the  Baals  will 
be  worshiped  no  more,  and  the  people,  faithful  and  loyal 
to  Jehovah,  will  rejoice  in  their  knowledge  of  his  right- 
eousness and  lovingkindness.  Since  Hosea  keenly  felt  the 
failure  of  Israel's  kingship  (13.  11),  it  is  not  likely  that 
he  expected  the  kingship  to  continue  in  the  new  social 
order.  The  new  age  was  in  some  measure  to  be  a  return 
to  the  earliest  years  of  the  nation's  history  (2.  23). 

Isaiah  differs  from  Hosea  in  the  starting  point  of  his 
age  of  felicity.  Hosea  expected  the  overthrow  of  Israel, 
a  return  to  the  wilderness,  and  a  new  entrance  into  the 
land.  Isaiah,  as  we  have  seen,  insisted  that  the  judgment 
would  not  overwhelm  Jerusalem,  and  that  the  "return" 
was  not  geographical  but  ethical.  Jehovah's  fiery  judg- 
ment would  awaken  the  dull  conscience  of  Judah's  leaders, 
and  they  would  inaugurate  the  better  day. 

According  to  Isaiah,  Jehovah  alone  inaugurates  the  new 
age.  The  Assyrian  will  be  checked  in  his  victorious  ca- 
reer not  by  the  armies  of  Egypt  or  by  Judah  or  by  a 
confederation  of  states;  "the  sword,  not  of  men,  shall 
devour  him"  (31.  8).  "Through  the  voice  of  Jehovah 
shall  the  Assyrian  be  dismayed"  (30.  31).  There  came 
to  pass  a  strange  fulfillment  of  this  prediction.  Jerusa- 
lem, as  we  have  seen,  outweathered  the  Assyrian  storm 
not  alone  because  of  strong  walls,  but  because  of  some 
circumstance  with  which  Judah  had  nothing  to  do.  In 
some  mysterious  fashion  Sennacherib  was  robbed  of  the 
capture   of   Jerusalem   and   was   forced   to   retreat   from 


ISAIAH  AND  THE  MESSIANIC  HOPE        51 

Palestine.  Later  studies  will  reveal  some  disastrous  con- 
sequences from  this  teaching.  But  at  the  time  it  was 
uttered  it  infused  that  faith  into  Isaiah's  countrymen  which 
alone  saved  them  from  surrendering  to  the  Assyrian. 

The  Personal  Rule  of  Jehovah  in  Jerusalem. — Read 
attentively  2.  1-i  and  note  that  it  is  Jehovah's  house 
which  is  to  be  exalted.  This  is  not  merely  the  Temple. 
It  is,  rather,  the  purified  city,  the  righteousness  of  whose 
inhabitants  fits  them  to  be  the  teachers  of  the  world.  The 
actual  instruction  would  fall  to  king,  judge,  and  priest. 
But  Jehovah  is  the  source  of  the  new  order.  Above  priest 
and  king  he  is  the  Ruler  of  the  Messianic  empire;  he  is 
the  Overlord  of  the  nations.  Previous  chapters  make  clear 
this  fundamental  Isaian  truth  of  Jehovah's  sover- 
eignty. The  student  may  read  30.  27-33,  which  so 
strongly  declares  that  Jehovah's  judgment  is  administered 
by  himself  alone.  Note  especially  verse  31.  This  same 
conviction  of  Jehovah's  personal  rule,  especially  as  the 
ground  of  the  expected  righteous  social  order,  is  found 
in  28.  14-22.  Observe  that  the  present  social  order  is 
built  on  a  foundation  of  lies  and  superstitions  (verse  15) ; 
but  Jehovah  will  sweep  aside  such  false  supports  of  the 
state  and  lay,  instead,  "in  Zion  ...  a  tried  stone,  a 
precious  corner  stone,"  which  will  provide  an  immovable 
foundation.  This  foundation  is  righteousness  and  jus- 
tice. 

Isaiah  certainly  did  not  expect  the  monarchy  to  be  set 
aside.  The  Judasan  kingship,  despite  its  evils,  for  Isaiah 
was  an  established  factor  in  society.  He  was  quite 
aware  that  the  princes  (3.  14)  were  the  source  of  many 
of  the  ills  of  the  state ;  but  even  in  the  midst  of  the  great- 
est calamities,  when  prophet,  diviner,  judge,  and  military 
leader,  the  stay  and  staff  of  the  city,  have  been  swept 
away,  the  state  is  not  without  its  King  (3.  1-4).  With 
this  feeling  for  the  kingship  it  was  inevitable  that  Isaiah 
should  look  for  a  line  of  sovereigns  whose  abilities  and 
virtues  should  fit  them  to  be  the  leaders  of  the  new 
social  order.  This  expectation  is  the  starting  point  of 
prophecies  of  the  Messiah. 


52  THE  RELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

The  Messianic  King. — Eead  9.  1-7.  Observe  that  the 
inauguration  of  the  new  order  of  light  and  joy  devolves 
upon  a  Judaean  king.  It  is  Jehovah,  indeed,  who  crushes 
the  Assyrian  02:)pressor  (verse  4),  but  the  deliverance  is 
to  be  followed  by  the  rule  of  a  prince  who  will  secure 
for  his  people  the  expected  felicities  of  the  new  age.  The 
names  applied  to  this  new  king — or  line  of  kings — are 
worthy  of  careful  scrutiny,  since  they  throw  light  upon 
the  nature  of  the  kingdom.  Four  striking  characteriza- 
tions of  the  new  sovereign  are  given:  he  is  a  wonder  of 
a  counselor,  a  god  of  a  warrior,  a  father  forever,  a  prince 
of  peace.  The  new  king  is  endowed  with  extraordinary 
statesmanship,  he  fights  the  battles  of  his  people  like  a 
divine  warrior,  his  fatherly  care  of  his  people  is  unceas- 
ing, and  he  secures  for  his  subjects  the  blessings  of  peace. 
Verse  7  declares  the  belief  that  this  Davidic  line  of  ex- 
traordinary kings  shall  long  endure,  and  that  they  shall 
secure  their  kingdom  through  justice  and  righteousness. 
If  this  divinely  endowed  race  of  kings  seems  improbable, 
let  it  be  remembered  that  "the  zeal  of  Jehovah  of  hosts 
will  perform  this.^' 

Examine  11.  1-9.  Point  out  the  additional  details  in 
this  picture  of  the  Messianic  prince.  What  endowment 
fits  him  for  rulership  in  the  approaching  age  ?  Note  care- 
fully what  elements  of  character  are  given  the  Messiah 
by  Jehovah.  Observe  too  that  the  king  is  the  judge  of 
his  people.  What  is  the  meaning  of  the  expression  "he 
shall  not  judge  after  the  sight  of  his  eyes"?  What  prin- 
ciples govern  his  administration  of  the  laws?  The  stu- 
dent will  delight  in  the  idyllic  portrayal  of  the  peaceful- 
ness  of  the  expected  age  found  in  verses  6-9.  Observe  the 
recurring  note  of  Isaianic  thought  that  ignorance  of  Je- 
hovah is  the  source  of  Judah's  ills,  and  that  when  the 
earth  is  full  of  the  knowledge  of  Jehovah,  a  universal 
reign  of  peace  will  be  inaugurated  among  men.  The  pas- 
sages 32.  1-5,  16-20  also  are  Messianic  oracles.  They  have 
been  considered  above,  but  the  student  should  observe 
that  a  Messianic  king  is  responsible  for  the  well-being  of 
the  state. 


ISAIAH  AND  THE  MESSIANIC  HOPE        53 

The    Social    Content    of    Isaiah's    Messianism. — The 

land  itself  will  respond  with  increased  fertility  to  the  new 
happiness  of  the  people.  Examine  4.  2;  29.  17;  and  32. 
15,  20  and  state  the  measure  of  the  prophet's  expectation 
that  the  soil  of  Palestine  will  be  more  richly  endowed  in 
the  Messianic  age. 

There  is  to  be  a  moral  reorganization  of  life.  The 
purging  judgment  clears  the  nation  of  moral  evil  (1.  25), 
and  Jerusalem  becomes  the  city  of  righteousness  (1.  26). 
As  Jehovah's  city  Jerusalem  becomes  preeminent  among 
the  nations  of  earth.  What  is  Jerusalem's  mission  in  this 
Messianic  age  ?  See  2.  1-3.  What  great  blessing  is  prom- 
ised in  2.  4?  The  chief  characteristic  of  Judah's  life, 
after  the  new  day  dawns,  is  justice  and  righteousness  (9. 
7).  The  poor  no  longer  are  oppressed  (29.  19),  the 
tyranny  of  priest  and  prince  over  the  weak  ceases  (29. 
20),  violence  is  at  an  end  (29.  21),  the  helpless  and 
the  lowly  never  lack  for  justice  (11.  4),  judges  cease 
taking  bribes  and  adjudicate  the  cause  of  the  orphan 
and  the  widow  (1.  23-26),  the  people  dwell  quietly  and 
confidently  in  their  possessions  (11.  6-9).  The  people 
themselves  are  holy — that  is,  righteous  (4.  3).  In  short, 
it  is  a  new  age  of  social  justice  rooted  in  a  new  sense  of 
human  brotherhood. 

The  new  state  is  neither  communistic  nor  democratic. 
Isaiah  did  not  predict  a  socialistic  state.  Each  man 
possesses  his  own  fields,  vineyards,  and  flocks.  There  are 
pronounced  social  classes — king,  prince,  judge,  and  priest 
— still  exercising  authority  over  the  comlnoners,  who  have 
nothing  to  do  with  the  choice  of  their  rulers.  Isaiah  ex- 
pected all  classes  in  Judah  to  be  permeated  by  such  a 
profound  sense  of  Jehovah's  righteousness  that  lust,  greed, 
and  love  of  ease  on  the  part  of  the  rulers,  priests,  and 
landowners  would  no  longer  curse  the  social  order  with 
selfish  indulgence  and  oppression.  There  would  be  no 
embittered  hearts  among  the  poor.  The  cruel  wrongs 
springing  from  the  outrageous  alienation  engendered 
among  men  by  wealth  and  power  would  cease  in  this  new, 
intense    consciousness    of    Jehovah's    righteous    rule    in 


54  THE  EELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

Judah.  Princes,  priests,  and  judges,  not  insensible  to 
Jehovah's  grace  and  kingdom  purpose — manifested  in 
the  preservation  of  Jerusalem,  his  holy  city — ,  would  seek 
to  carry  out  Jehovah's  demands,  which  are,  essentially, 
demands  for  social  justice.  As  will  be  seen  presently, 
the  Messianic  hope  is  religious:  it  visions  new  knowledge, 
trust,  and  loyalty  on  the  part  of  man  toward  Jehovah. 
But  Messianism  in  Isaiah  finds  its  outward  expression 
in  a  fraternal  order,  wherein  the  sense  of  brotherhood  is 
strong  enough  to  secure  peace,  justice,  and  good  will 
among  men. 

Worship  in  the  New  Age. — That  which  undermined 
the  Jewish  state  was  the  people's  forgetfulness  of  Jehovah 
manifested  in  the  worship  of  other  deities  (17.  10).  In 
the  new  era  *%en  shall  look  unto  their  Maker"  (17.  7). 
They  will  not  seek  spiritualistic  mediums  nor  bow  down 
to  idols.  Jerusalem  will  be  the  source  of  the  religious 
instruction  of  surrounding  nations  (2.  3).  The  whole 
spirit  of  Isaiah's  teaching  indicates  that  he  regarded  the 
prophets,  not  the  priests,  as  the  true  servants  and  spokes- 
men of  Jehovah.  Consequently,  he  must  have  expected 
that  the  religious  leadership  of  the  new  age  would  be 
with  those  in  whom  the  spirit  of  prophecy  lived. 

Isaiah  says  very  little  about  the  forms  of  worship  in 
the  projected  ideal  state.  His  insistence  upon  righteous- 
ness would  rule  out  the  licentious  features  of  worship 
at  the  local  sanctuaries.  It  will  be  remembered  that  in 
Isaiah's  day  the  people  were  still  worshiping  at.  the  vari- 
ous local  shrines  throughout  the  country.  Worship  was  not 
yet  concentrated  at  Jerusalem.  The  local  high  places  con- 
tinued to  be  the  scenes  of  the  great  annual  religious  feasts 
and  of  other  family  sacrifices.  There  is  no  evidence  that 
Isaiah  raised  any  objection  to  these  local  altars  or  that 
he  distinctly  contemplated  their  discontinuance  in  the 
golden  age.  But  with  his  profound  sense  of  the  sover- 
eignty of  Jehovah  he  could  scarcely  have  tolerated  the 
venerable  altars  set  up  by  Solomon  to  foreign  deities. 

Isaiah  nowhere  states  that  he  regards  the  priesthood 
and  the  system  of  sacrifice  as  essentials  in  the  new  age. 


ISAIAH  AND  THE  MESSIANIC  HOPE        55 

He  certainly  bitterly  denounced  the  whole  sacrificial  sys- 
tem as  it  was  carried  on  in  his  day  (1.  11-15).  While 
there  is  no  direct  evidence  that  he  expected  the  sacrificial 
system  to  be  swept  away,  because  of  the  fact  that  he  con- 
stantly regards  the  prophetic  experience  as  the  very  soul 
of  religion  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  he  could  con- 
template with  satisfaction  the  disappearance  of  the  whole 
sacrificial  system.  Since  the  "earth  is  to  be  full  of  the 
knowledge  of  Jehovah/^  and  since  the  exercise  of  religion 
is  primarily  the  practice  of  justice  and  righteousness, 
Isaiah  may  have  looked  for  a  displacement  of  the  cultus 
by  a  spiritual  democracy  in  which  each  individual  would 
enjoy  an  unmediated  fellowship  with  Jehovah. 

An  Attempt  to  Realize  the  Messianic  Kingdom 

The  signal  deliverance  of  Jerusalem  from  the  Assyrians 
in  701  B.  C.  verified  in  a  remarkable  manner  Isaiah's 
teaching  of  divine  deliverance  and  the  inviolability  of 
Jehovah's  city.  Hezekiah  and  his  court,  sobered  by  the 
danger  and  the  disastrous  results  of  the  Assyrian  inva- 
sion, began  to  heed  this  man  of  God  whose  political  poli- 
cies had  not  varied,  and  whose  religious  faith  had  not 
wavered  even  in  the  darkest  hour  of  the  nation's  life. 
At  last  Hezekiah  set  himself  to  carry  out  some  of  the 
reforms  upon  which  Isaiah  insisted. 

Eead  2  Kings  18.  4  for  the  extent  of  this  reformation 
of  worship.  That  the  reform  was  quite  superficial  is  seen 
in  the  fact  that  the  altars  to  alien  deities  erected  by  Solo- 
mon were  unmolested.  The  ritual  was  not  corrected. 
Certain  country  shrines  were  violated,  and  the  bronze 
serpent  was  destroyed.  The  sacrifice  offered  to  this  ser- 
pent is  a  suggestive  hint  of  the  idolatrous  practices  against 
which  Isaiah  so  strongly  inveighed.  Note  that  the  author 
of  the  book  of  Kings  believes  that  the  idol  had  been  long 
a  part  of  Judah's  worship.  It  is  a  mark  of  Isaiah's 
greatness  that  his  religious  program  was  too  exalted  for 
his  times.  A  century  needed  to  pass  by  before  his  visions 
were  translated  into  the  actual  practices  of  any  consider- 


56  THE  EELIGIOX  OF  JUDAH 

able  portion  of  his  countrymen.  There  are  elements  in 
his  dreams  which  still  are  dreams  for  the  prophets  of 
modern  civilization. 

Summary 

The  student  should  hold  a  clear  conception  of  the  terms 
"Messianism/'  ''Messianic  kingdom,"  and  "Messiah."  By 
"Messianism"  is  meant  that  strong  belief  of  the  Jewish 
people  that  Jehovah  would  deliver  them  from  their  ene- 
mies abroad  and  from  the  internal  evils  of  their  state  and 
exalt  them  into  a  glorious  commonwealth  that  should  have 
rule  over  the  nations.  The  term  "Messianic  kingdom" 
fixes  more  precisely  the  form  of  the  state :  it  is,  in  political 
form,  a  monarchy.  The  Messiah  is  the  nation's  king, 
the  anointed  one,  chosen  and  consecrated  by  Jehovah. 
While  the  Messianic  hope  frequently  included  a  Messianic 
king,  the  Messiah  is  not  the  essential  element  of  Mes- 
sianism.  The  determining  feature  of  the  Messianic  hope 
is  the  divinely  established  deliverance  and  kingdom. 

It  will  be  observed  from  the  sections  studied  in  this 
chapter  how  strongly  the  Messianic  hope  was  a  social  ideal. 
This  point  cannot  be  overemphasized.  If  the  student 
recalls  the  social  disorders  denounced  by  Amos,  Hosea, 
and  Isaiah,  it  will  be  clear  that  any  vision  of  a  better  day 
would  center  in  a  demand  for  social  justice  and  righteous- 
ness. The  content  given  the  Messianic  hope  by  Isaiah 
should  be  well  understood,  for  the  Isaian  concept  is  not 
final.    Later  thinkers  incorporate  new  ideas. 

For  Modern  Holders  of  the  Messianic  Hope 

To  know  God,  says  Isaiah,  is  the  solution  of  the  people's 
ills.  Do  you  believe  this?  Can  any  permanently  satis- 
factory adjustment  of  present-day  wrongs  be  made  apart 
from  religion?  Can  justice  and  righteousness  be  se- 
cured in  the  state  unless  they  are  felt  supremely  to 
be  the  demand  of  God?  This  is  not  a  question  to  be  dis- 
missed lightly;  it  is  fundamental  to  all  reform. 

Do  you  feel  keenly  that  your  religion  demands  from 


ISAIAH  AND  THE  MESSIANIC  HOPE        57 

you  justice,  love,  and  righteousness  in  all  your  human 
relations?  The  religion  that  does  not  utter  an  unceasing 
protest  against  the  ills  of  society  and  lift  its  undying  cry 
for  the  better  day  is  not  a  great  religion :  it  does  not  bring 
man  face  to  face  with  God.  Unless  worship  is  the  glad 
reverence  and  trust  with  which  the  person  who  is  keen 
to  eliminate  the  wrongs  so  grievously  cursing  the  com- 
munity draws  near  to  fellowship  with  Him  who,  too,  is 
laboring  to  bring  in  the  perfect  day,  it  is  a  mockery. 

The  government  of  the  world  rests  with  the  optimist. 
He  who  is  convinced  that  '^^the  best  is  yet  to  be'^  in  every 
age  will  find  the  multitude  his  followers.  There  is  a 
natural  repulsion  toward  defeat.  The  soul  covets  free- 
dom, and  progress  is  the  road  to  liberty.  No  man  who 
really  believes  in  God  can  long  remain  disconcerted  with 
the  world^s  events.  He  cannot  keep  his  faith  in  God  and 
despair  of  civilization.  Nations  and  races  come  and  go, 
but  ideals  are  deathless;  and  in  the  long  run  every  glo- 
rious dream  for  humanity  shall  manifest  itself  in  deeds 
and  institutions. 

Do  circumstances  create  the  individual?  Or  does  the 
individual  mold  his  surroundings  into  finer  forms? 
Measured  by  his  own  day,  Isaiah  does  not  seem  to  have 
accomplished  much  in  changing  the  spirit  and  social  prac- 
tice of  his  age.  His  predictions  concerning  the  chastise- 
ment and  rescue  of  «Jerusalem  were  fulfilled.  But  the 
golden  age  did  not  follow.  The  dream  of  his  heart  did 
not  come  true.  Tradition,  custom,  habits,  ignorance — 
every  form  of  social  inertia — were  against  him.  Is  it, 
then,  worth  while  for  the  dreamer  to  continue  weaving 
his  ideal?  Shall  the  reformer  tirelessly  beat  against  the 
solid  wall  of  ignorance,  prejudice,  and  greed?  What  is 
the  reward  of  prophesying  and  martyrdom?  This: 
Every  bit  of  progress  in  the  individual  and  society  comes 
from  the  ceaseless  beating  of  ideals  against  the  bars  of 
ancient  things.  It  is  the  visioner  of  dawn  who  ever  has 
fought  the  hosts  of  darkness.  To  change  the  world  one 
need  not  have  a  great  name;  he  needs  only  great  pur- 
pose  and  great  faith. 


58  THE  KELIGION  OF  JUDAH 


Taking  Inventory 

1.  What  advantage  to  mankind  accrues  from  the  belief  that 
"the  best  is  yet  to  be"? 

2.  State  those  passages  in  the  Bible  which  convey  the  idea 
that  the  happiest  experience  of  men  lies  in  the  past. 

3.  What  is  the  meaning  of  the  terms  "Messiah"  and  "Mes- 
sianism"? 

4.  What  is  Isaiah's  doctrine  of  "the  remnant"? 

5.  What  led  him  to  put  forth  this  doctrine? 

6.  To  what  extent  was  this  ideal  realized? 

7.  According  to  Isaiah,  when  and  how  was  the  Messianic 
age  to  be  ushered  in? 

8.  What  was  Isaiah's  conception  of  the  Messiah? 

9.  What  changes  in  social  conditions  were  to  take  place? 

10.  To  what  extent  were  Isaiah's  expectations  concerning  a 
new  era  realized? 

11.  What  resemblance  is  there  between  Jewish  Messianism 
and  other  schemes  of  political  idealism,  such  as  Plato's  Ideal 
Republic,  Campanelli's  City  of  the  Sun,  and  Moore's  Utopia? 

Material  for  Additional  Study 

Isaiah:  His  Life  and  Times,  Driver,  Chapter  IX. 
Prophets  of  Israel,  W.  R.  Smith,  pages  356-64. 
The  Religious  Teaching  of  the   Old   Testament,  Knudson, 
Chapter  XV. 
Article,  "Utopia,"  Encyclopedia  Britannica. 


CHAPTER  VI 
THE  MESSAGE  OF  MICAH 

The  book  of  Micah  contains  not  only  written  prophe- 
cies of  Micah  of  Moresheth  (a  hill  town  of  western  Judah), 
a  prophet  who  lived  in  the  eighth  century,  but  prob- 
ably also  reflects  the  writings  of  other  religious  teachers 
of  succeeding  generations.  Students  have  not  yet  gener- 
ally agreed  upon  the  sections  to  be  assigned  to  him  who 
was  the  contemporary  of  Isaiah  and  who  labored,  in  the 
spirit  of  this  great  prophetic  age,  to  lift  religion  from 
unethical  ritual  into  the  vision  of  Jehovah's  moral  nature 
and,  consequently,  into  the  practice  of  social  virtues. 
Although  this  uncertainty  attaches  to  his  message,  he 
belongs  worthily  to  the  great  group  of  prophets  through 
whom  the  world  first  received  its  vision  of  ethical  re- 
ligion. He  was  no  mere  imitator  of  Amos,  Hosea,  and 
Isaiah.  His  messages  are  quite  like  theirs,  but  he  pos- 
sessed an  independent  soul  and  asserted  vigorously  and 
boldly  his  views  of  Judah's  sins  and  faithlessness.  Jere- 
miah 26.  18,  19  reveals  that  Micah  was  an  influential 
factor  in  the  political  and  religious  life  of  the  border  years 
of  the  eighth  and  seventh  centuries. 

Micah's  prophecies  indicate  that  he  was  old  enough 
to  appreciate  at  the  time  of  its  occurrence  the  disaster 
to  the  northern  kingdom  wrought  by  the  destruction  of 
Samaria  in  721.  His  life  was  determined  by  his  belief  in 
a  similar  destruction  of  Jerusalem.  He  must  have  lived 
through  the  Assyrian  invasion  of  701.  In  such  case, 
although  no  prophecies  of  a  restored  people  are  extant,  like 
Isaiah  he  may  have  believed  in  a  near  Messianic  age. 
Under  the  following  topics  are  grouped  the  essential 
themes  in  the  sermons  of  Micah: 

The  Approach  of  Certain  Destruction 
Read  the   first  chapter  of  Micah.     Verses   2-7  are  a 

59 


60  THE  RELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

threat  of  certain  punishment  to  fall  upon  the  two  He- 
brew kingdoms.  Observe  that  Jehovah's  residence  is  his 
holy  temple  not  in  Jerusalem  but  in  the  heavens.  When 
he  draws  near  Samaria  and  Jerusalem  in  judgment,  the 
very  earth  suffers.  The  capital  of  the  northern  state  will 
be  turned  into  a  desolate  field.  It  is  the  city,  wealthy 
and  licentious,  which  has  spread  the  dreadful  contagion 
of  sin  throughout  the  state.  This  prediction  of  Samaria's 
destruction  was  fulfilled  in  Sargon's  capture  of  the  city 
in  721  B.  C.  Like  Isaiah,  Micah  regarded  the  devastat- 
ing and  conquering  Assyrian  forces  as  the  servant  of 
Jehovah. 

Verses  8-16  describe  the  approach  of  the  Assyrian  army 
into  Judah  to  the  very  gates  of  Jerusalem.  Micah  mourns 
this  terrible  destruction  and  calls  upon  Judah  to  put  on 
the  signs  of  humiliation  and  grief  for  her  captive  chil- 
dren. 


Reasons  for  This  Scourging  Punishment 

After  this  chapter,  expressing  so  confidently  the  de- 
struction of  the  two  kingdoms,  there  follow  two  chapters 
denouncing  the  sins  which  have  occasioned  the  downfall 
of  the  Hebrew  states.  The  student  should  note  carefully 
the  nature  of  the  sins  condemned  by  Micah.  Sin  is  al- 
ways some  disruption  of  man's  fellowship  with  men  or 
with  God.  What  spirit  and  deeds  in  Micah's  day  are 
breaking  fraternalism  in  Judah?  See  2.  1,  2.  What 
penalty  (2.  3,  4)  is  promised  these  covetous,  oppressive 
landowners  ?  Note  the  appropriateness  of  the  judgment  to 
fall  upon  these  ruthless  land  thieves.  What  protests  do 
these  wealthy  oppressors  of  the  poor  make  to  Micah's 
threat  of  punishment?  The  text  of  verses  6  and  7  is  un- 
certain, but  the  following  cannot  be  far  from  the  meaning : 

''Do  not  preach  upon  such  subjects: 
Destruction  cannot  come  upon  Jehovah's  people. 
Is  Jehovah  impatient  with  us?     Will  he  cast  us  off? 
Can  he  mean  aught  but  good  to  his  people  Israel?'* 


THE  MESSAGE  OF  MICAH  61 

The  same  folly  is  expressed  by  a  clearer  text  in  3.  11, 
which  we  prefer  to  render: 

'*Is  not  Jehovah  in  the  midst  of  us? 
No  evil  shall  come  upon  us." 

Although  Amos  and  Hosea  had  done  their  best  to  break 
down  this  unwarrantable  folly  of  believing  that  the  ancient 
covenant  bound  Jehovah  to  protect  his  people  in  every 
event,  and  although  their  history  gave  little  basis  for  such 
belief,  the  people  still  clung  to  this  kinship  conception  of 
man  and  Deity.  The  covenant  relation  was  not  yet  ethi- 
cized. 

The  answer  to  this  folly  is  Jehovah's  protest  to  the 
rich  (2.  8,  9)  : 

''You  have  become  my  peaceful  people's  enemy; 

You  strip  the  clothing,  as  in  wartime,  from  your  quiet 
neighbors; 

The  women  of  my  people  you  drive  out  from  their  blessed 
homes; 

From  their  young  children  you  take  away  my  glory  for- 
ever/' 

It  is  not  clear  whether  the  last  line  means  that  the  chil- 
dren are  sold  into  slavery,  or  the  fathers  of  children.  In 
the  former  case  the  children  would  be  orphans  (2  Kings 
4.  1).  All  this  is  a  horrible  picture  of  the  social  corrup- 
tion that  an  unchecked  greed  for  wealth  ever  introduces 
into  society.  Verse  11  adds  a  final  touch  to  the  infamy 
of  Judah's  social  life.  Micah,  recognizing  that  his  mes- 
sage is  unacceptable  to  the  unscrupulous  rich  of  his  day, 
declares  that  the  prophet  who  would  preach  on  wine  and 
glorify  drunkenness  would  receive  a  handsome  salary  and 
get  it  paid  regularly. 

Chapter  3  becomes  more  bitter  in  the  denunciation  of 
the  greed  and  covetousness  that  oppress  and  rob  the  poor. 
Princes,  says  Micah,  ought  to  be  the  guardians  of  social 
justice;  on  the  contrary,  they  love  evil.  Verses  2  and  3 
describe  in  the  terms  of  a  cannibal  feast  the  hardships 


62  THE  RELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

that  wealthy  men  inflict  upon  the  poor.  But  there  is  a 
day  of  judgment  for  these  hard-hearted  scoundrels.  In 
that  day  of  reparation  they  will  cry  for  mercy,  but  Je- 
hovah's face  will  be  hidden  from  them. 

Micah  rightfully  pours  out  his  scorn  upon  the  profes- 
sional prophets  who  have  failed  to  insist  upon  economic 
justice.  They  are  the  truckling  servants  of  unscrupulous 
and  greedy  merchants,  landowners,  and  princes  who  feed 
them.  They  cry,  "Peace''  when  the  whole  state  groans 
with  the  burdens  of  intolerable  injustice.  Micah  can 
think  of  no  more  dire  calamity  for  a  prophet  than  for 
visions  from  Jehovah  to  fail  him.  Yet  this  is  their  pun- 
ishment. In  their  hour  of  indecision  and  deepest  per- 
plexity nothing  but  silence  and  darkness  will  meet  them. 
There  will  be  no  answer  from  Jehovah. 

Verses  9-12  are  a  summary  of  Judah's  sins.  Princes 
pervert  the  courts  and  destroy  the  hope  of  justice.  Men 
of  wealth  beautify  Jerusalem  by  the  pauperization  of 
labor.  Priests,  custodians  of  traditional  law  and  custom, 
sell  their  knowledge  and  grow  rich  upon  the  necessities 
of  their  victims.  Prophets,  instead  of  declaring  Jehovah's 
purposes,  preach  a  gospel  pleasing  to  the  dominant  social 
classes. 

For  these  sins,  sins  of  social  anarchy,  Jerusalem  will 
be  destroyed.  "Is  not  Jehovah  with  us?"  these  greedy 
and  antisocial  leaders  reply  to  the  true  prophets  who 
threaten  them  in  the  name  of  Jehovah  with  judgment  and 
punishment.  But  Micah  responds  in  sterner  tones, 
"Zion  for  your  sake  shall  be  plowed  as  a  field." 

Miscellaneous  Prophecies  of  the  Book  of  Micah. — 
The  prophecies  so  far  studied  quite  generally  have  been 
assigned  to  Micah,  whose  ministry  paralleled  the  later  life 
of  Isaiah.  Certain  oracles  in  the  remaining  chapters,  the 
authorship  of  which  is  debatable,  are  here  examined,  since 
they  are  similar  in  tenor  to  the  accepted  teaching  in  chap- 
ters 1  to  3  or  with  previously  expressed  prophetic  thought : 

(a)  Micah  6.  1-8- — Judah's  false  conception  of  Jeho- 
vah's character  and,  consequently,  of  the  worship  that  is 
acceptable  to  him.    As  in  Isaiah  1.  2  Jehovah  summons 


THE  MESSAGE  OF  MICAH  63 

heaven  and  earth  to  witness  his  accusation  against  his 
people.  The  spirit  of  love  and  pleading  suggests  the  ten- 
derness of  Hosea.  Micah  cannot  understand  the  defec- 
tion of  Judah.  Like  Hosea  he  feels  that  the  course  of 
Israel's  history — a  history  of  redemption — ought  to  have 
produced  more  spiritual  views  of  Jehovah's  character  and 
purposes.  The  nation  should  have  learned  ere  this  that 
a  ritual  of  animal  sacrifice,  however  extravagantly  and 
faithfully  performed,  springs  from  an  inadequate  knowl- 
edge of  Jehovah's  nature.  Blood  splashed  upon  a  stone, 
the  burning  fat  of  the  choicest  calf,  or  even  a  human  sacri- 
fice, believed  to  be  an  eflScacious  way  to  win  the  favor  of 
God,  can  arise  only  among  an  unreflecting  people.  Be- 
neath all  the  licentious,  superstitious  worship  and  the 
social  crimes  lies  a  primitive,  unethical,  and  inadequate 
conception  of  Deity.  Hosea  and  Isaiah,  as  we  have  seen, 
bitterly  complain  of  this  ignorance  of  Jehovah.  There  is 
no  knowledge  of  God  in  the  land,  affirmed  Hosea  (4.  1), 
and  the  destruction  of  Israel  is  due  to  this  false  conception 
of  their  national  deity  (4.  6;  5.  13).  Isaiah  is  equally  ex- 
plicit (1.  3),  and  in  his  picture  of  the  ideal  age  (11.  9) 
it  is  a  fundamental  that  "the  earth  shall  be  full  of  the 
knowledge  of  Jehovah."  Verse  8  is  a  beautiful  summary 
of  the  eighth-century  prophetic  ideal  of  religion.  It  con- 
templates a  religion  without  sacrifice  of  any  kind.  It  lifts 
religion  out  of  a  butcher  shop  into  a  fraternal  life  of  good 
will  expressed  in  the  home,  the  fields,  the  markets,  the 
courts  of  justice,  and  the  executive  mansion.  This  verse 
should  be  treasured  in  memory.  It  makes  a  splendid 
motto  for  the  home  or  business  ofiice. 

(b)  Micah  6'  9-1 6^ — An  arraignment  of  dishonest 
business  practices  and  an  assurance  of  punishing  judg- 
ment. The  text  is  frequently  corrupt,  but  the  general 
meaning  may  be  understood.  Scant  measures  and  false 
weights,  wealth  gotten  by  lies  and  theft,  are  an  abomina- 
tion to  Jehovah.  Therefore,  riches  so  accumulated  shall 
vanish.  The  invader  will  snatch  them  away.  The  owner 
of  fields,  olive  orchards,  and  vineyards  who  has  amassed 
competence  by  the  high-handed,  bloody  methods  of  Ahab 


64  THE  RELTGIOX  OF  JUDAH 

shall  not  enjoy  the  fruits  of  his  evil  deeds.  His  wealth 
shall  be  swept  away. 

(c)  Chapter  7.  1-6  perhaps  belongs  near  the  close  of 
Mieah's  life.  If  it  is  a  genuine  oracle  of  this  prophet 
it  reflects  the  terrible  reaction  under  Manasseh,  the  son  of 
Hezekiah  (see  next  chapter).  It  is  a  dark  picture.  The 
first  verse  indicates  Micah's  isolation:  His  ideal  of  re- 
ligion and  the  social  order  is  ignored  by  all.  The  state 
is  torn  asunder  by  fratricidal  suspicion  and  crime.  High- 
handed greed  and  cruelty  pursue  their  anarchic  war  un- 
checked. The  righteous  have  been  silenced  by  fear 
or  death.  The  courts  are  the  agents  of  crime.  The  state 
topples  to  its  ruin, 

Micah  and  the  Messianic  Hope. — There  is  little  Mes- 
sianic hope  in  Micah.  Like  Isaiah  he  began  with  denun- 
ciation of  Judah's  sins;  unlike  Isaiah  he  felt  the  full  force 
of  the  Assyrian  invasions  of  711  and  701.  He  lived  in 
a  country  town  and  felt  more  keenly  the  savage  ravages  of 
the  troops  of  Sennacherib.  With  sixty  JudaBan  towns 
captured,  the  whole  countryside  devastated,  and  Jerusa- 
lem beleaguered,  there  was  little  expectation  that  the  cap- 
ital eventually  would  be  spared.  Like  Isaiah  he  realized 
the  fullest  extent  of  the  rapacity,  greed,  and  murderous 
intent  of  the  wealthy  nobles.  These  nobles  dwelt  in  the 
city,  and  Micah  could  conceive  nothing  less  than  the  city's 
destruction  as  suitable  reward  for  their  crimes.  Chap- 
ter 3.  12 : 

"Therefore,  on  account  of  your  doings. 
Like  a  field  shall  Zion  he  plowed; 
Jerusalem  shall  he  a  heap  of  ruins, 
And  the  Temple-mount  a  wooded  hill." 

Chapters  4  and  5  of  the  book  of  Micah  contain  Messianic 
material;  but  it  is  of  such  a  nature  that  it  seems  unlikely 
that  it  was  written  by  the  Micah  studied  above.  Like 
Amos  with  regard  to  Israel,  Micah  undoubtedly  believed 
that  nothing  less  than  the  overthrow  of  the  Judaean  state 
could  correct  its  evils.  Like  Hosea,  if  he  did  conceive  of 
a  deliverance,  it  was  such  a  vague  hope   (4.  10)   that  it 


THE  MESSAGE  OF  MICAH  65 

did  not  win  a  significant  place  in  his  utterances.  Even 
his  pessimism  turns  out  optimism.  Jehovah  is  so  righteous 
that  Judah,  if  she  cannot  practice  righteousness,  must  be 
destroyed.  It  is  better  to  have  a  righteous  world  or  none 
at  all. 

Summary 

The  personal  history  of  Micah,  like  that  of  his  prede- 
cessors, is  a  coloring  element  in  his  prophecy.  We  never 
view  life  wholly  apart  from  the  context  of  our  own 
lives.  Our  theories  spring  out  of  our  environment.  Which 
one  of  Micah's  three  great  predecessors  most  resembles 
him  in  personal  history  and  prophetical  outlook?  Which 
of  these  four  leaders  are  known  to  have  been  married,  and 
what  did  married  life  contribute  to  their  training  and 
ministry  ? 

We  cannot  remind  ourselves  too  often  of  this  prophetic 
ideal  of  religion.  First  of  all,  the  religion  that  is  destined 
to  endure  is  vision  of  the  ethical  life  of  God.  This  was 
the  starting  point  of  each  of  these  men  and  the  supreme 
fundamental  in  their  thought  of  deity.  It  is  this  insight 
of  divine  nature,  conviction,  and  faith,  so  far  above  the 
customary  belief  of  their  day,  which  sets  them  so  sharply 
against  their  contemporaries.  From  this  contemplation 
of  Jehovah  they  came  back  to  the  actual  life  of  the  times 
with  the  demand  that  the  social  order  should  reflect  the 
lofty  nature  of  God.  In  two  ways  the  social  order  was  not 
a  response  to  an  ethical  Deity.  Worship  centered  in  super- 
stitious rites — sorcery  and  divination — and  in  a  ritual  of 
idols,  lust,  and  animal  sacrifice.  Such  religion  made  no 
demands  upon  the  civil,  political,  and  economic  relation- 
ships of  life.  When  justice,  righteousness,  and  love  be- 
come the  supreme  elements  in  man's  concept  of  deity, 
there  arises  at  once  the  demand  in  the  person  who 
would  enter  into  fellowship  with  his  divine  Overlord  to 
reproduce  like  character  in  himself.  Nor  can  ethical 
religion  rest  in  the  individual's  just,  righteous,  and  loving 
attitude  toward  God.  Immediately  he  is  compelled  to 
treat  his  fellows  with  the  same  spirit  and  motives.     A 


ee  THE  EELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

just  person  is  just  in  all  his  relationships,  or  his  justice 
ceases  altogether.  It  is  this  glorious  insight  by  the 
prophets  into  the  nature  of  God  and  of  the  individuaFs 
relation  to  him  and  their  compelling  demand  for  a  social 
order  responsive  to  the  divine  character  which  constitute 
the  fadeless  splendor  of  the  prophetic  ideal  of  life. 

Micah  may  not  seem  to  have  contributed  much  to  this 
ideal.  But  he  reenforces  the  ideal  from  the  life  of  a  coun- 
tryman of  Isaiah^s  day.  He  is  a  fearless  spokesman  of 
his  conceptions  of  truth.  He  cared  more  for  righteousness 
than  for  the  treasured  institutions  of  his  country.  He 
lives  in  that  immortal  group  of  eighth-century  Hebrew 
leaders  to  whom  the  world  never  will  cease  to  be  indebted. 

Corner  Stones  for  Spiritual  Temples 

Would  you  test  your  faith  in  God?  Attack  some  in- 
iquitous custom,  habit,  business,  or  institution  that  yields 
financial  profit  to  its  promoters.  The  preaching  directed 
against  the  source  of  a  man^s  income  ever  is  bitterly 
assailed.  Savonarola  was  hanged  by  the  business  inter- 
ests he  condemned.  Paul  was  mobbed  at  Ephesus  because 
the  silversmith's  trade  was  threatened.  Jesus  was  cruci- 
fied because  his  teaching  was  undermining  the  Jewish 
hierarchy.  Gambling,  the  saloon,  prostitution,  the  licen- 
tious theater,  curse  society  because  they  pay  dividends. 
Vice  lives  because  it  enriches  its  promoters.  The  nation 
wars  because  it  supposes  that  victory  in  the  long  run  con- 
duces to  prosperity.  Have  Micah's  heroism  to  denounce 
these  profit-yielding  evils.  Be  not  afraid  of  iniquitous 
wealth. 

An  institution  that  lives  on  injustice  has  no  claim  upon 
a  patriot.  No  true  lover  of  his  country  will  enlist  in  a 
war  of  conquest.  A  real  patriot  would  rather  see  his 
country  perish  than  live  by  injustice  and  greed.  Wealth 
secured  by  pillage  never  enriches  a  man  or  a  people.  Let 
us  learn  to  be  poor  if  wealth  can  be  secured  only  through 
dishonor;  let  us  be  content  to  remain  unknown  if  fame 
has  to  be  won  by  the  betrayal  of  our  finest  selves;  let  us 


THE  MESSAGE  OF  MICAH  67 

be  willing  to  die  if  life  is  to  be  preserved  through  disloyalty 
to  God. 

Do  not  think  that  God  is  obligated  to  do  great  things 
for  you.  Eeligion  is  fellowship,  and  any  betrayal  of 
Christ^s  ideals  in  you  alienates  you  from  fellowship  with 
God.  There  is  no  redemption  in  broken  fellowship. 
Whatever  evil  there  is  in  you  must  be  thrust  out  of  your 
life.  Then,  with  yearning  heart  to  know  God's  love,  you 
place  an  obligation  upon  his  love  and  righteousness  which 
issues  in  the  drawing  of  yourself  unto  his  own  great  Soul. 

In  the  midst  of  the  antagonisms  and  disorders  of  his 
day  Micah  was  conscious  of  deep  power  (3.  8).  He  saw 
so  clearly  into  the  purposes  of  Jehovah  that  he  knew 
the  ultimate  triumph  of  his  ideal.  That  consciousness  of 
sure  victory  was  the  source  of  his  power.  You  too  may 
move  serene  and  sure  in  the  midst  of  life's  confusions.  Be 
filled  with  a  passion  for  love  and  justice  and  go  forth  to 
champion  these  causes,  and  you  fight  on  the  side  of  vic- 
tory. This  universe  is  backed  by  God,  and  God  will  pre- 
serve him  who  struggles  in  behalf  of  the  eternal  verities. 

Are  You  Acquainted  With  Micah? 

1.  What  dates  fairly  indicate  the  periods  of  the  public  min- 
istry of  Amos,  Hosea,  Isaiah,  and  Micah  respectively? 

2.  What  is  known  of  the  personal  life  of  Micah? 

3.  What  sins  did  Micah  most  strongly  condemn? 

4.  In  what  sins  do  cities  usually  specialize? 

5.  What  accusation  did  Micah  bring  against  the  prophets? 

6.  With  what  wrongs  did  he  charge  the  priests? 

7.  What  was  Micah's  attitude  toward  the  sacrificial  system? 

8.  Find  the  verse  in  the  book  of  Micah  which  sums  up  the 
religious  teaching  of  the  eighth-century  prophets. 

9.  What  was  Micah's  thought  concerning  the  Messianic  king- 
dom? 

10.  State  the  resemblances  and  differences  in  the  teaching 
of  Micah  and  Isaiah. 

11.  Do  you  find  any  parallels  with  Micah's  descriptions  in 
economic  conditions  to-day? 

12.  What  help  does  Micah  offer  in  the  solution  of  our  modern 
economic  difficulties? 

For  Further  Study 
Article,  "Micah,"  Dictionary  of  the  Bible,  Hastings. 


68  THE  RELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

The  Prophets  of  Israel,  W.  R.  Smith,  pages  287-94. 

History,  Prophecy,  and  the  Monuments,  McFadyen,  Volume 
II,  Book  VII,  Chapter  VI.  A  careful  and  illuminating  survey 
of  the  social  conditions  that  led  to  the  overthrow  of  Samaria 
and  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem, 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE  DEUTERONOMIC  REFORM 

The  precise  date  when  Hezekiah's  long  reign  ended  is 
in  doubt.  It  may  have  been  as  late  as  686  B.  C.  The  exact 
date  of  Isaiah's  death  is  unknown.  It  is  quite  probable 
that  he  did  not  live  long  after  the  Assyrian  retreat  in  701 
so  remarkably  confirmed  his  faith  in  the  indestructibility 
of  Jerusalem.  We  have  seen  that  Micah,  a  younger  con- 
temporary of  Isaiah,  had  no  such  hopes  of  Jerusalem's 
inviolability  as  had  Isaiah  and  that  he  lived  to  experience 
something  of  the  bitter  reaction  under  Manasseh.  The 
present  chapter  is  a  study  of  the  sad  conditions  under 
Manasseh,  which  stirred  the  disciples  of  the  eighth-cen- 
tury prophets  to  undertake  a  reform  of  worship  in  the 
reign  of  Josiah. 

The  Reign  of  Manasseh 

Manasseh  came  to  the  throne  of  Judah  probably  in  686 
and  reigned  until  641.  The  deliverance  of  Jerusalem 
from  sack  in  the  reign  of  Hezekiah  did  not  free  Judah 
from  Assyrian  vassalage.  The  reign  of  Manasseh  coin- 
cides with  the  period  of  greatest  domination  of  Assyria  in 
the  west.  Esarhaddon  (680-668)  led  his  troops  to  the 
conquest  of  Egypt,  and  the  Assyrian  suzerainty  was  main- 
tained through  much  of  the  rule  of  Ashur-bani-pal  (668- 
626).  Both  these  princes  maintained  Syria  and  Pales- 
tine in  vassalage,  and  the  imperial  records  of  their  reign 
mention  Manasseh  among  their  tributary  kings.  Their 
annual  tribute  undoubtedly  was  borne  by  Judaeans  to 
Nineveh,  and  Judaean  soldiers  were  compelled  to  march 
with  their  Assyrian  masters  in  the  Egyptian  campaigns. 
Several  Palestinian  towns  were  occupied  by  Assyrian  gov- 
ernors and  troops.  In  the  excavations  at  Gezer  two  clay 
tablets,  dated  649  and  647  respectively,  dealing  with  the 

69 


70  THE  RELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

sale  of  an  estate  and  the  transfer  of  a  field  rceal  the 
fact  that  while  Assyrians,  Egyptians,  and  Hebrews  were 
living  in  this  ancient  city,  the  official  language  was  As- 
syrian.^  These  instances  of  Assyrian  dominion  in  Pales- 
tine inadequately  suggest  the  influence  which  this  mighty 
empire  under  its  greatest  kings  exercised  over  the  small, 
weak  Judaean  state.  Manasseh's  long  reign  was  peaceful 
for  the  sole  reason  that  he  attempted  no  rebellion  and 
faithfully  paid  the  Assyrian  tribute. 

This  political  situation  enables  us  to  understand  the 
religious  condition  of  these  years.  Isaiah's  predicted 
golden  age  had  not  come.  The  judgment  had  not  fallen 
upon  Assyria.  On  the  contrary,  that  nation's  hold  upon 
the  west  was  greater  than  ever.  Isaiah  and  his  disciples 
were  discredited  before  the  nation.  The  court,  probably 
expressing  the  views  of  the  large  majority  of  the  nation, 
turned  with  new  zeal  to  the  cultus  that  the  eighth-cen- 
tury prophets  had  so  insistently  condemned.  Read  2 
Kings  21.  1-18  for  the  historian's  account  of  the  sins  of 
Manasseh.  With  regard  to  worship  Manasseh  turned  the 
development  of  religion  backward  in  two  particulars: 

{a)  He  gave  a  new  impetus  to  the  Babylonian  worship 
of  the  luminaries  of  heaven.  It  is  stated  in  2  Eangs 
21.  3  that  Manasseh  "worshipped  all  the  host  of  heaven, 
and  served  them."  Verse  5  adds,  "He  built  altars  for  all  the 
host  of  heaven  in  the  two  courts  of  the  house  of  Jehovah." 
From  2  Kings  23.  4,  5  we  learn  that  this  astral  cult  had 
its  various  altar  utensils  and  priests.  Where  were  these 
altars  located?  See  Jeremiah  19.  13;  Zephaniah  1.  5; 
and  2  Kings  23.  5.  Job  31.  26,  27  is  a  witness  that  this 
star  worship  continued  for  centuries.  W^hat  details  do 
these  verses  from  Job  add  concerning  the  manner  of 
worship  of  this  star  cult?  Jeremiah  8.  2  indicates  some- 
thing of  the  extent  of  this  worship  in  Jerusalem.  Deu- 
teronomy 4.  19  and  17.  3  express  the  horror  in  which 
this  worship  was  held  by  the  reformers  of  the  seventh 
century. 


See  Bible  Side-Lights  From  the  Mound  of  Gezer,  Macalister,  page  338, 


THE  DEUTEKONOMIC  REFORM  71 

Another  aspect  of  this  worship  of  the  heavenly  bodies 
is  found  in  2  Kings  23.  11.  These  horses,  white  in  color, 
were  stabled  within  the  Temple  precincts  near  one  of  the 
entrances  of  the  Temple.  They  were  quite  likely  intro- 
duced by  Manasseh.  The  horses  were  not  sacrificial  ani- 
mals. Harnessed  to  the  chariots,  they  were  driven  in 
procession  toward  the  §ast  at  the  rising  of  the  sun.  Primi- 
tive people  frequently  have  accounted  for  the  sun's  move- 
ments by  supposing  that  he  was  a  god  riding  in  his 
chariot.  The  savage  supposes  that  he  can  cause  changes 
in  the  natural  world  by  some  imitative  act  which  mag- 
ically causes  the  natural  phenomenon.  The  horses  and 
chariots  of  the  sun  undoubtedly  first  were  used  by  primi- 
tive Semitic  people,  who  supposed  that  the  harnessing  of 
the  horses  at  dawn  and  the  driving  of  the  chariot  thereby 
compelled  the  sun  god  to  awaken  from  his  sleep  and  set 
forth  in  his  chariot  to  bless  the  world  with  light  and 
warmth. 

The  worship  of  the  heavenly  bodies  assumed  another 
form,  which  evidently  was  quite  popular.  Read  Jeremiah 
7.  18;  44.  15-30.  "The  queen  of  heaven^'  quite  probably 
was  the  Babylonian  goddess  Ishtar,  who  was  identified 
in  the  eighth  and  seventh  centuries  with  the  planet  Venus. 
In  the  Babylonian  texts  of  this  period  Ishtar  is  called 
"Ishtar  of  the  Stars,''  "Queen  of  the  Stars,"  "Queen  of 
Heaven,"  and  other  similar  titles.  The  references  in  Jere- 
miah show  that  the  worship  essentially  was  a  woman's 
cult,  that  cakes  of  a  special  kind  were  made  and  burned 
on  the  altars  of  the  goddess,  and  that  the  offering  was 
accompanied  by  libations  and  was  performed  in  various 
cities  as  well  as  in  the  streets  of  Jerusalem. 

(b)  All  this  display  of  Babylonian  worship  gave  a  new 
impulse  to  old  Canaanitish  cults,  which,  although  in  some 
measure  repressed  by  Hezekiah,  had  characterized  He- 
brew worship  since  the  earliest  centuries  in  Palestine. 
Study  again  2  Kings  21.  1-18  for  the  details  of  this  re- 
vival of  Canaanitish  practices.  Observe  that  Manasseh 
built  again  the  high  places  destroyed  by  Hezekiah,  reared 
altars  for  Baal,  set  up  an  asherah  within  the  Temple, 


n  THE  RELIGION  OP  JUDAH 

practiced  augury,  used  enchantments,  recognized  me- 
diums, introduced  sacred  prostitutes  into  the  Temple  (2 
Kings  23.  7),  and  offered  human  sacrifice.  Baal  was  the 
common  Semitic  name  for  deity.  There  were  innumer- 
able Baals.  Each  high  place  had  its  Baal.  When  the 
Hebrews  first  entered  Palestine,  the  worship  of  the  Baals 
was  taken  up  and  carried  on  side  by  side  with  the  worship 
of  Jehovah.  In  the  course  of  time  the  name  of  Jehovah 
was  substituted  for  the  various  Baals.  The  eighth-cen- 
tury prophets  denounced  this  worship,  although  in  the 
name  of  Jehovah,  as  heathenism.  It  is  probable  that  the 
words  "he  reared  up  altars  for  BaaF^  means  that  the  old 
ritual,  essentially  a  Baal  ritual,  was  encouraged  at  the 
various  high  places.  The  asherah  was  a  wooden  post, 
sometimes  carved  (1  Kings  15.  13),  and  perhaps  occa- 
sionally draped  (2  Kings  23.  7).  Its  use  at  the  sanc- 
tuary is  disputed.  The  sacrifice  of  the  first-born  child 
seems  to  have  been  widely  prevalent.  "Over  the  whole 
area  of  the  high  place  the  earth  was  discovered  to  be  a 
regular  cemetery,  in  which  the  skeletons  of  young  infants 
were  buried.  These  infants  never  were  more  than  a  week 
old.  They  were  deposited  in  large  jars,  and  with  them 
were  placed  smaller  jars,  possibly  for  food  for  use  of  the 
little  victim  in  the  other  world.  Two  at  least  of  the  skele- 
tons showed  marks  of  fire.  We  have  here  evidence  of 
the  widespread  custom  of  devoting  the  first-born;  a  part 
of  the  practice  whereby  the  first  fruits  of  man,  of  beast, 
and  the  field  were  sacred  to  the  divinity."^ 

This  introduction  of  Assyrian  worship  and  revival  of 
Canaanitish  practices  did  not  take  place  unchallenged  by 
those  citizens  more  loyal  to  Jehovah  and  those  who  had 
learned  from  the  prophets  something  of  the  spiritual  and 
ethical  character  of  deity.  Manasseh  stamped  out  all 
open  opposition  by  wholesale  murder  (2  Kings  21.  16) 
and  forced  by  his  cruelties  those  who  cherished  other 
beliefs  to  hold  them  secretly.  He  did  not  of  course 
crush  all  worship  of  Jehovah.     Sacrifices  to  the  national 


^  Bible  Side -Lights  From  the  Mound  of  Gezer,  Macalister,  page  73. 


THE  DEUTERONOMIC  REFORM  73 

Deity  still  continued,  but  they  were  neglected  and  mini- 
mized by  this  revival  of  heathenism. 

The  Reign  of  Josiah 

(a)  Manasseh's  long  reign  ended  in  641.  His  son  Am- 
mon  ruled  for  two  years.  Josiah,  the  son  of  Ammon, 
came  to  the  throne  in  639  and  held  the  scepter  of  Judah 
until  608.  Josiah's  elevation  to  the  throne  apparently 
ended  the  open  persecution  of  the  prophetical  party,  but 
the  worship  established  under  Manasseh  continued  un- 
changed for  a  period  of  eighteen  years. 

The  earlier  prophecies  of  Jeremiah  and  the  ministry 
of  Zephaniah  belong  to  this  first  half  of  Josiah^s  reign. 
Read  Zephaniah  1.  4-6,  8,  9  for  hints  of  the  Assyrian  and 
Canaanitish  worship  studied  above.  See  also  Zephaniah 
3.  1-4  for  the  general  corruption  of  the  state.  The  athe- 
ism regarding  their  national  Deity  is  expressed  in  1.  12. 
Zephaniah,  like  his  predecessors,  prophesies  an  overwhelm- 
ing judgment.  This  prophet,  especially  like  Amos,  pro- 
claims a  "day  of  Jehovah,"  and  for  him,  too,  it  is  a  day 
of  judgment.  Note  especially  1.  15-18.  Like  Isaiah, 
Zephaniah  cherished  the  Messianic  hope.  Read  3.  11-17. 
After  the  judgment  will  dawn  a  new  age,  in  which  there 
shall  be  no  iniquity,  no  lies;  but  Jehovah  will  dwell  in 
the  midst  of  the  restored  community,  the  King  of  Israel. 

Read  Jeremiah  1.  16;  2.  11-37;  chapters  3  to  5.  These 
sections  are  additional  testimony  to  the  deplorable  re- 
ligious and  social  conditions  existing  through  the  reigns 
of  Manasseh  and  Ammon  and  also  down  to  621  in  the 
reign  of  Josiah. 

(b)  In  the  year  621  there  occurred  an  event  that 
changed  the  course  of  Judah^s  religious  history.  The  ac- 
count is  found  in  2  Kings  22.  3-20. 

Note  the  mission  of  Shaphan.  After  the  business  of 
the  repairs  was  finished,  what  new  matter  was  broached 
by  Hilkiah?  What  was  done  immediately  by  Shaphan? 
What  report  did  he  make  to  Josiah?  What  effect  did  the 
reading  of  the  book  produce  in  the  king?  What  were 
the  king's  first  orders?     Note  that  the  book  was  a  ''book 


74  THE  RELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

of  the  law"  and  that  it  had  been  found  by  Hilkiah  in  the 
Temple.  Did  the  king  question  its  genuineness?  What 
caused  the  king's  consternation?  In  what  manner  did 
the  king's  servants  "inquire  of  Jehovah"?  What  was  the 
answer? 

For  the  inauguration  of  the  reform  study  2  Kings  23. 
1-3.  What  was  the  king's  first  measure  ?  What  solemn  cov- 
enant was  made  by  Josiah?  What  position  was  taken 
by  the  people  with  reference  to  the  proposed  reform?  Ex- 
amine attentively  2  Kings  23.  4-15  for  the  details  of  the 
reformation.  Observe  that  they  consisted  in  (1)  a  purg- 
ing of  the  Temple  of  the  Assyrian  and  Canaanitish  wor- 
ship, (2)  the  suppression  of  the  local  sanctuaries  scat- 
tered throughout  the  kingdom,  and  (3)  the  destruction 
of  the  sanctuaries  erected  by  Solomon  to  the  gods  of  his 
various  foreign  wives.  Josiah,  following  the  requirements 
of  the  newly  discovered  law  book,  inaugurated  a  change  in 
the  celebration  of  the  ancient  Passover  festival.  Read 
2  Kings  23.  21.  What  other  reforms  were  put  through? 
(2  Kings  23.  24).  What  else  is  known  of  Josiah?  (2 
Kings  23.  29,  30).  How  does  this  event  correspond  with 
2  Kings  22.  20? 

SUMMAKY 

It  comes  with  a  surprise  and  almost  with  a  shock  that 
the  ethical  interpretation  of  religion  so  impressively  pro- 
claimed by  Amos,  Hosea,  Isaiah,  and  Micah  penetrated 
so  little  the  worship  of  their  times.  The  signal  deliv- 
erance of  Jerusalem,  accepted  in  701  by  Hezekiah  and  his 
court  as  a  mark  of  Jehovah's  favor  and  power,  failed  to 
inculcate  loyalty  to  him.  The  stress  of  economic  cir- 
cumstances dislodged  Jehovah  from  his  supreme  place  in 
the  life  of  his  people.  Assyrian  overlordship  induced  a 
time-serving  court  to  imitate  the  fashions,  customs,  and 
worship  of  the  nations  that  had  become  Judah's  master. 
Zephaniah  1.  8,  9  indicates  how  deeply  Assyrian  influences 
permeated  Judsean  society.  Foreign  customs  were  intro- 
duced, and  styles  of  dress  were  imitated.  This  belief  that 
the  worship  of  Assyrian  gods  conduced  to  national  pros- 


THE  DEUTERONOMIC  REFORM  75 

perity  was  so  deeply  rooted  in  Judah  that  the  reform 
under  Josiah  did  not  permanently  eradicate  it.  It  is 
probable  that  the  Tammuz  worship  (Ezekiel  8.  14)  was 
introduced  under  Manasseh  and,  after  being  suppressed 
for  a  time,  again  was  practiced  openly  within  the  pre- 
cincts of  the  Temple.  Sun  worship  too  had  revived  (Eze- 
kiel 8.  16),  and  Ezekiel  throws  light  upon  the  manner 
in  which  it  was  performed.  Even  the  destruction  of 
Jerusalem  did  not  eliminate  these  cults  from  Hebrew 
life.  An  assembly  of  men  and  women,  fugitives  from 
Jerusalem  in  Egypt,  openly  declared  to  Jeremiah  that  they 
would  have  none  of  his  Jehovah  worship  (Jeremiah  44. 
15-19) ;  that  all  the  calamities  of  the  downfall  of  the 
southern  kingdom  were  due  to  their  failure  to  continue 
the  worship  of  the  queen  of  heaven,  which  had  been  so 
faithfully  performed  in  the  days  of  Manasseh  and  Josiah 
by  their  fathers,  kings,  and  princes  in  the  cities  of  Judah 
and  the  streets  of  Jerusalem. 

Yet  the  reform  under  Josiah  was  no  insignificant  ex- 
pression of  Hebrew  religious  life.  It  was,  as  the  next 
chapter  will  show,  a  splendid  triumph  of  prophetical  re- 
ligion. Without  this  sudden  recall  to  Jehovah  worship 
and  to  a  more  spiritual  and  ethical  interpretation  of  his 
will  the  religion  of  the  Hebrews  would  have  been  sub- 
merged by  the  cults  of  their  conquerors.  It  is  a  splendid 
testimony  to  the  clearness  and  the  strength  of  the 
prophetic  vision  of  Jehovah  that  it  withstood  the  Assyrian 
influence  under  ^lanasseh,  lifted  its  burning  protest  under 
Josiah,  and  held  aloft  under  succeeding  kings  through 
the  tragical  years  of  the  nation's  downfall  and  exile  its 
demands  for  the  sole  worship  of  Jehovah,  expressed  in 
humble  devotion  to  him  and  in  justice  and  righteousness 
among  men. 

In  rereading  the  sections  of  the  books  of  Samuel  and 
Kings  and  the  prophetic  sermons  studied  previously  it 
will  be  seen  that  hitherto  there  had  been  little  or  no  ap- 
peal to  codes  of  law.  The  sins  of  Israel  and  Judah  inter- 
preted by  the  prophets  were  not  transgressions  of  well- 
known  law  codes:  they  were  violations  of  thoroughly  un- 


76  THE  KELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

derstood  principles  of  justice  and  humanity.  Previous  to 
Josiah's  reform  there  was  of  course  a  gradually  enlarging 
body  of  religious  and  civil  law.  These  laws  were,  in  the 
first  place,  the  decisions  of  the  priest  at  the  various  sanc- 
tuaries. Under  the  monarchy,  at  least  in  the  eighth  cen- 
tury, there  were  local  judges  regarded  as  representatives 
of  the  king.  Civil  and  religious  law  in  the  Hebrew  state 
were  not  clearly  distinguished,  and  the  priest  and  judge 
frequently  overlapped  jurisdictions.  The  point  here  made 
is  that  Josiah's  changes  in  the  religious  life  of  the  state 
were  promulgated  by  an  appeal  to  a  code  of  law,  and  that 
such  an  appeal  is  an  entirely  new  departure  in  Hebrew 
history. 

CONFORMEES    AND    TRANSFORMERS 

Manasseh  and  Josiah  are  permanent  types  of  charac- 
ter. Manasseh,  yielding  to  Assyrian  influence,  made  no 
permanent  contribution  to  Hebrew  civilization;  Josiah, 
setting  himself  against  the  evils  of  his  times,  impressed 
his  moral  faith  and  heroism  upon  the  world.  The  one 
was  a  conformer;  the  second  was  a  transformer.  We  be- 
long to  one  or  the  other  class.  Conformers  are  played 
upon  by  their  surroundings  until  their  life  is  molded  and 
their  destiny  is  shaped  by  external  forces.  Conformers 
stone  the  prophets,  adorn  the  sages  with  cap  and  bells, 
worship  will-o'-the  wisps,  lift  self-seekers  to  the  throne, 
and  follow  charlatans,  who  trick  them  out  of  their  lib- 
erty and  live  upon  their  toil.  Conformers  acquiesce  in 
the  petty  and  mean  in  human  affairs.  They  are  the  prey 
of  prejudice,  gossip,  rumors,  and  lies.  Such  men  do  not 
know  why  they  are  in  the  world.  They  never  hear  God 
calling  them  to  help  redeem  the  world;  they  would  not 
think  it  worth  redeeming  if  they  did. 

The  conformist  is  a  putty  man.  If  the  world  wears 
high-heeled  shoes  and  red  socks,  he  must  wear  high-heeled 
shoes  and  red  socks.  If  it  smokes,  he  must  get  him  a  box 
of  cigarettes.  If  it  owns  a  chariot  of  the  sun  or  an  auto- 
mobile, he  must  mortgage  his  house  to  ride  fashionably. 
Conformists  never  bring  in  a  minority  report;  they  follow 


THE  DEUTERONOMIC  REFORM  77 

the  crowd  to  the  christening-  of  a  child  or  the  lynching  of  a 
murderer.  Conformers  never  discover  worlds,  never  orig- 
inate nations,  never  explore  continents,  never  name  the 
stars.  They  never  started  reformations,  never  advanced 
the  cause  of  liberty,  never  freed  a  slave,  never  honored 
woman,  never  lifted  a  burden  from  a  child.  They  never 
accepted  a  purer  religion,  never  formulated  a  higher  phil- 
osophy, never  revealed  a  nobler  science,  never  wrote 
world-poetry,  never  died  for  the  truth.  For  them  there 
are  no  problems,  no  paths  to  unseen  goals,  no  angel  visit- 
ants setting  up  ladders  to  heaven,  no  faint  songs  sound- 
ing in  the  dead  of  night  from  far  spiritual  cities,  no  tang 
and  push  of  soul  to  be  a  knight-errant  in  the  cause  of 
truth. 

Conformers  have  eyes,  but  they  are  in  the  back  of  their 
heads;  they  have  ears,  but  they  are  stuffed  with  cotton; 
they  have  noses,  but  they  never  smell  the  stench  of  civic 
unrighteousness;  they  have  lips,  but  they  are  dumb  with 
the  apathy  of  sordid  minds ;  they  have  hands,  but  they  are 
struck  with  moral  paralysis;  they  have  souls,  but  they  are 
shrunken  with  fear,  abased  in  sensuality,  and  imprisoned 
hopelessly  in  the  fashions  of  the  world. 

Transformers  are  a  class  of  supermen.  All  that  is  es- 
sentially valuable  in  human  achievement  has  been  done  by 
them.  True  creative  work  is  theirs  alone.  They  give  new 
meanings  and  directions  to  human  life.  It  is  they  who 
flash  the  ideal  in  awakening  dawns  across  a  slumbering 
world  and  arouse  hope  and  victorious  struggle  in  the 
despondent  epochs  of  mankind.  The  transformer  knows 
that  he  is  supremely  soul;  he  knows  that  the  universe  is 
fundamentally  spiritual;  he  knows  that  he  can  go  forth  to 
live  consciously  with  God.  He  treads  the  high  places  of 
the  earth;  he  builds  the  habitations  upon  the  hills;  he 
lives  with  the  stars ;  he  thinks  in  eternities ;  he  pitches  his 
tent  in  the  camping  places  of  Almighty  God. 

Transformers  consider  themselves  masters  of  life.  They 
are  the  shapers  of  events.  They  are  potters,  and  the  world 
is  their  clay.  They  know  they  are  on  earth  not  to  have  a 
good  time  but  to  run  a  great  race,  to  finish  a  great  task, 


'j'a  THE  EELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

to  fight  the  good  fight.  Life  for  them  is  not  an  excursion, 
a  picnic,  a  vacation,  a  picture  show.  They  realize  that 
life  is  never  a  gift  but  a  conquest.  They  see  that  they 
win  manhood  and  womanhood  not  in  pursuit  of  a  career 
but  in  surrendering  themselves  to  a  great  cause.  They 
know  that  the  road  to  greatness  crosses  the  summit  of 
a  Golgotha.  They  try  not  to  save  their  lives  but  to  lose 
them  in  a  thousand  ministries.  They  find  peace  not  in 
banquets,  not  in  touching  gold,  not  in  the  flaming  cup, 
not  in  passion's  hot  embrace;  they  know  happiness  in 
following  afar  the  vision  of  a  world  redeemed  from  ignor- 
ance and  sin  and  in  losing  themselves  to  this  their  chosen 
cause  of  God. 

Be  a  transformer, 

Infobmation  Wanted 

1.  What  prediction  of  Isaiah's  concerning  political  events 
remained  unfulfilled? 

2.  Why  should  Judah's  vassalage  to  Assyria  affect  disas- 
trously Hebrew  religious  life? 

3.  What  is  meant  by  star  worship?  To  what  extent  did  it 
obtain  in  Judah?  Give  some  details  of  the  manner  in  which 
such  worship  was  carried  on. 

4.  What  influences  led  to  the  resurgence  of  the  Canaanitish 
worship  of  the  Baals?  What  were  the  "high  places"?  De- 
scribe some  features  of  this  Canaanitish  religion. 

5.  What  were  the  prophets  doing  in  the  reign  of  Manasseh? 

6.  What  religious  practices  of  the  reign  of  Manasseh  and 
Josiah  were  condemned  by  Jeremiah?  by  Zephaniah? 

7.  What  social  conditions  were  adversely  criticized  by  these 
two  prophets? 

8.  Study  closely  and  answer  carefully  all  the  questions 
raised  above  in  the  discussion  of  the  law  book  found  in  the 
Temple. 

9.  What  is  the  unique  thing  in  Josiah 's  reforfais? 

10.  State  the  differences  in  character  between  Manasseh  and 
Josiah. 

11.  How  many  transformers  are  there  in  your  community? 

Supplementary  Readings 
Old-Testament  History,  Smith,  pages  254-76. 
Articles  "Manasseh"  and  "Josiah,"  Dictionary  of  the  Bihle, 

Hastings. 

The  Second  Book  of  Kings,  Farrar,  Volume  II,  Chapters 

XXIX-XXXI,  in  "The  Expositor's  Bible." 


CHAPTER  VIII 
DEUTERONOMIC  PROVISIONS  FOR  WORSHIP 

The  preceding  chapter  discussed  the  discovery  of  a 
law  book  in  the  Temple  of  Hilkiah  in  the  year  621  B.  C. 
and  the  inauguration  of  this  code  as  the  law  of  the  realm 
by  a  popular  assembly.  The  reforms  undertaken  by  Josiah 
in  compliance  with  the  new  code  also  were  noted.  The 
student  is  aware  of  the  uniqueness  of  this  event.  We  have 
met  no  similar  establishment  of  a  body  of  law  in  our 
study  of  Hebrew  life.  The  covenant  made  at  Sinai  at 
the  threshold  of  the  people's  history,  although  it  involved 
certain  requirements  of  obedience  and  loyalty,  did  not 
include  a  wrought-out  code.  Our  studies  have  made  no 
reference  to  Hebrew  law,  and  there  have  been  but  few 
notices  of  the  administration  of  either  civil  or  ecclesias- 
tical law.  Therefore,  the  appearance  of  a  written  code 
solemnly  adopted  by  the  people  is  a  unique  event  in  He- 
brew life. 

This  book  of  law,  which  was  the  basis  of  Josiah's  re- 
forms, is  now  found  in  chapters  5  to  26  and  28,  with  few 
exceptions,  of  our  present  book  of  Deuteronomy. 

SUMMAKY     OF    EiGHTII-CeNTUEY     PrOPIIETISM 

Amos,  Hosea,  Isaiah,  and  Micah  were  practical  mono- 
theists.  The  majority  of  their  contemporaries  believed  in 
the  reality  of  other  gods.  As  Jehovah  was  the  God  of  the 
Hebrews,  so  other  nations  had  their  deity  or  deities.  It 
was  expected  that  Jews  who  took  up  their  residence  in 
other  lands  should  worship  the  gods  of  the  people  in  whose 
midst  they  lived.  Foreigners  who  settled  in  Palestine  as 
a  matter  of  course  worshiped  Jehovah.  The  great 
prophets  were  the  first  to  claim  universal  sovereignty  for 
Jehovah.     Perhaps  at  first  the  claim  was  no  more  than 

79 


go  THE  RELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

that  Jehovah  was  superior  to  other  gods;  but  presently 
the  doctrine  was  advanced  that  he  is  God  alone.  Jehovah 
rules  the  nations.  See  Amos,  chapters  1  and  2;  Hosea 
12.  9 ;  Isaiah  2.  12-22,  and  many  other  references  in  these 
prophetical  writings.  Jehovah  supplants  the  Canaanitish 
deities  as  Lord  of  Palestine  (Hosea  2.  8-13,  17-20).  His 
original  dwelling  place  was  at  Mount  Horeb,  but  he 
finally,  in  the  thought  of  the  Hebrews,  made  Palestine 
his  own  land. 

Through  the  prophets,  also,  was  made  known  Jehovah's 
moral  character.  The  student  will  recall  the  stern  de- 
mands for  justice  uttered  by  Amos  in  the  name  of  Jeho- 
vah. Justice  is  Jehovah's  supreme  characteristic  (3.  2; 
4.  1-3;  5.  14,  15,  21-23).  Hosea  added  that  Jehovah's 
justice  is  tempered  by  compassion;  that  he  loves  guilty 
Israel  (2.  19,  20;  11.  1-4);  that  righteousness  and  good- 
ness are  rooted  in  his  nature  (4.  1;  6.  4-6).  Neither  can 
one  forget  the  inaugural  vision  of  Isaiah,  which  planted 
so  positively  in  him  the  conception  of  Jehovah's  right- 
eousness. In  the  teaching  and  life  of  these  prophets 
Jehovah  was  not  a  Deity  exalted  merely  by  power;  he  was 
to  be  worshiped  and  obeyed  because  of  his  matchless  char- 
acter. He  was  the  embodiment  of  those  virtues  which 
ever  are  necessary  for  fellowship  between  persons. 

Jehovah's  supreme  demands  from  men  are  moral  de- 
mands. The  student  will  recall  the  severe  denunciations 
of  the  worship  at  the  sanctuaries  uttered  by  this  group  of 
prophets.  They  were  not  condemning  the  fact  of  sacrifice 
at  the  many  high  places  but  they  did  excoriate  the  unre- 
flective  and  licentious  character  of  this  worship.  Examine 
Hosea  4.  17;  8.  4,  5;  13.  2;  Isaiah  2.  18-20;  30.  22. 
Micah  (1.  7)  condemned  the  use  of  images.  The  spiritual 
Jehovah  cannot  be  represented  by  material  forms. 
The  elaborate  ritual  and  sacrifice  accompanied  by  feast- 
ing and  sensuality  cannot  bring  man  into  right  relation 
with  Jehovah.  These  prophets  were  willing  that  the 
whole  sacrificial  system  should  be  abandoned;  but  they 
were  insistent  that  men  should  hear  Jehovah  directing 
them  to  that  moral  service  which  upbuilds  the  community. 


PEOVISIONS  FOR  WORSHIP  81 

Religious  Conceptions  and  Provisions  in  the  Law 
Book  of  Josiah 

Jehovah  Alone  to  Be  Worshiped. — Read  Deuteron- 
omy 6.  4-15  and  11.  13-21.  Observe  the  impressive  and 
beautiful  words  of  this  essential  creed  of  Jewish  religion 
to  this  day.  "Hear,  0  Israel:  Jehovah  our  God  is  one 
Jehovah/'  the  injunction  begins;  and  then  follows  the 
admonition  to  love  him  whole-heartedly  and  to  beware 
of  having  anything  to  do  with  other  gods.  There  are 
many  other  passages  of  like  import.  The  code  is  a  con- 
tinual insistence  that  Jehovah  alone  is  Israel's  God.  No 
other  is  to  be  worshiped;  no  other  has  had  aught  to  do 
with  Israel's  history;  no  other  can  secure  the  nation's 
future  glory.  This  only  claim  of  Jehovah  upon  the  wor- 
ship of  Israel  is  set  forth  in  stern  demands:  All  those 
who  worship  or  solicit  others  to  worship  any  deity  except 
Jehovah  are  to  be  put  to  death  (12.  29  to  13.  18). 

The  chief  inducement  of  the  immigrant  Hebrews  to 
worship  other  gods  is  well  put  in  12.  30.  The  Hebrews, 
in  fact,  did  ask  this  very  question :  "How  do  these  people 
of  Canaan  serve  their  gods?"  and  in  the  first  years  of 
their  settlement  in  Palestine  worshiped  the  local  deities 
as  well  as  their  own  Jehovah.  In  the  course  of  time 
Canaanitish  practices  were  so  much  assimilated  by  the 
Hebrews  that  practically  the  old  Baal  worship  of  Canaan 
was  carried  on  in  the  numerous  high  places  in  the  name 
of  Jehovah.  The  prophetic  reformers  are  now  trying  to 
eliminate  the  grosser  features  of  this  amalgamated  worship 
by  calling  attention  to  the  manner  in  which  it  had  orig- 
inated. Observe  that  the  most  obnoxious  of  these  per- 
sistent features  of  Canaanitish  practices  is  the  sacrifice  of 
children  (12.  31). 

The  basis  of  this  demand  that  Jehovah  alone  shall  be 
worshiped  should  be  carefully  noted.  Jehovah,  out  of  his 
great  goodness  and  love,  chose  the  Hebrew  people  to  be 
his  own  people  (7.  6-8).  This  love  led  him  to  redeem 
them  from  Egyptian  bondage  and  to  make  a  covenant  with 
the  founders  of  the  nation.    He  never  has  repudiated  this 


S2  THE  EELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

covenant,  and  his  love  is  still  turned  toward  his  own.  The 
history  of  the  Hebrews  is  a  history  of  this  ministering 
love  (8.  2-10).  Yet  Jehovah^s  love  is  not  such  that  trans- 
gression goes  unpunished.  Instances  of  such  punishment 
are  cited  (11.  2-7),  and  the  present  generation  is  sternly 
warned  not  to  take  advantage  of  this  compassionate  love. 
Kegulations  Concerning:  Worship. —  (a)  The'  place 
of  worship. — The  law  of  the  single  sanctuary:  (1)  De- 
struction of  the  high  places  (Deuteronomy  12.  2-4).  The 
student  will  recall  that  worship  at  the  many  scattered 
sanctuaries  went  on  unchallenged  for  centuries.  Hosea  is 
the  first  to  question  in  any  way  the  legitimacy  of  this 
worship.  No  one  of  the  prophets  advocated  their  destruc- 
tion. It  was  left  to  these  Deuteronomic  writers  of  this 
new  code  to  insist  upon  their  abandonment  in  favor  of 
the  Temple.  This  was  now  for  the  first  time  possible. 
The  northern  kingdom  was  no  more;  Judah  was  only  a 
small  territory.  But  even  so  it  involved  a  striking  change 
in  the  people's  beliefs  and  practices.  (2)  The  single  sanc- 
tuary (Deuteronomy  12.  5-19).  What  sanctuary,  though 
not  expressly  named,  does  the  writer  have  in  mind  ?  Were 
earlier  worshipers  not  conscious  of  meeting  Jehovah  at 
other  altars?  Recall  Solomon's  visit  to  Gideon  (1  Kings 
3.  4)  and  similar  practices  in  the  earlier  history.  Observe 
that  this  code  contemplates  not  only  a  destruction  of  the 
worship  imported  by  Solomon  for  the  sake  of  his  wives 
and  by  Manasseh  from  Assyria,  but  also  the  cessation  of 
all  Jehovah  worship  at  scattered  altars.  Worship  is  now 
to  be  centered  at  Jerusalem.  Since  sacrifice,  in  this  code, 
is  still  the  customary  expression  of  worship,  observe  the 
positive  demand  that  it  must  be  offered  at  the  central 
sanctuary  (Deuteronomy  12.  13,  14,  17,  18).  (3)  Ex- 
amine 12.  15,  20-27.  These  verses  are  extremely  interest- 
ing. Note  that  so  long  as  sacrifice  takes  place  at  the  local 
altars,  all  killing  and  eating  of  animals  is  sacrifice.  When 
all  sacrifice  was  ordered  by  this  code  to  take  place  at  Jeru- 
salem, either  the  ordinary  killing  of  animals  for  food  had 
to  take  place  at  Jerusalem,  with  great  inconvenience  to 
daily  life,  or  the  killing  of  animals  for  food  must  be  de- 


PROVISIONS  FOR  WORSHIP  83 

clared  nonsacrificial.  Which  way  out  was  taken  by  the 
reformers?  Note  that  this  legislation  wipes  out  the  old 
distinction  of  clean  and  unclean  sacrificial  animals  (12. 
15-22).  The  blood,  however,  formerly  an  essential  ele- 
ment of  the  sacrifice,  retains  enough  of  this  sanctity  in  the 
thought  of  the  legislators  that  it  must  not  be  treated  com- 
monly; it  must  be  poured  out  upon  the  ground. 

(b)  The  law  of  tithes. — Examine  14.  22-27.  This  provi- 
sion should  be  observed  carefully.  Undoubtedly  it  is  the 
earliest  Old-Testament  legislation  on  this  subject. ^  What 
things  are  tithed  ?  What  L-:  posal  is  made  of  the  tithe  ? 
Amos  4.  4  indicates  that  this  tenth  of  the  produce  of  the 
soil,  together  with  the  firstlings  of  flock  and  herd,  was 
used  in  a  sacred  feast  at  the  various  local  sanctuaries. 
What  change  in  the  disposal  of  the  tithe,  then,  does  this 
Deuteronomic  law  contemplate?  Why  is  the  change  in- 
sisted upon? 

(c)  The  law  of  firstlings. — Read  15.  19-23.  The  student 
will  observe  the  sanctity  of  the  first-born  male  of  flock  and 
herd.  Such  could  not  be  used  in  labor,  but  must  be  offered 
to  Jehovah  in  sacrifice.  Consult  Exodus  20.  24  for  an 
earlier  law.  Here,  too,  in  pre-Deuteronomic  days,  the 
firstlings  were  sacrificed  at  the  local  altars.  The  change 
is  in  the  interest  of  the  one  sanctuary  and  the  one  Deity. 

(d)  The  annual  agricultural  feasts. —  (1)  The  Passover, 
or  the  Feast  of  Unleavened  Bread  (16.  1-8)  :  Here,  too, 
the  chief  change  is  the  transfer  from  local  shrines  to  the 
central  sanctuary  at  Jerusalem.  (2)  The  Feast  of  Weeks 
(16.  9-12)  :  The  Harvest  Feast  also  was  a  festival  older 
than  the  Deuteronomic  age.  Earlier  laws  are  found  in  Ex- 
odus 23.  16;  34.  22.  This  festival  too  was  celebrated  at 
the  local  sanctuaries.  The  Deuteronomic  law  fixes  the  date 
of  the  festival  seven  weeks  from  the  first  beginnings  of 
the  grain  harvest  and  limits  the  celebration  to  the  Temple 
at  Jerusalem.  See  Deuteronomy  26.  1-11  for  the  ritual 
of  the  sacrifice  at  such  occasions.  (3)  The  Feast  of  Taber- 
nacles (16.  13-15)  :  This  is  an  ancient  autumn  feast,  called 


^  See  Deuteronomy,  Driver,  page  lG8f. 


84  THE  EELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

in  the  earlier  legislation  the  Feast  of  Ingathering  (Exo- 
dus 23.  16;  34.  22).  The  present  code  withdraws  the  feast 
from  its  local  observance  to  (and  legalizes  it  only  at) 
Jerusalem  and  fixes  the  length  of  the  feast. 

(e)  Various  laws  dealing  with  improper  worship, — 
Asherahs  and  Mazzebahs  condemned  (16.  21,  22) ;  blem- 
ished animals  unacceptable  for  sacrifice;  divination  and 
spiritualism  condemned  (18.  10-14) ;  sacred  prostitution 
proscribed  (23.  17,  18) ;  vows  not  to  be  lightly  ignored 
(23.  21-23). 

(/)  Religious  persons. —  (1)  Priests:  These  in  the 
Deuteronomic  age  are  known  also  as  Levites  (17.  18  to  18. 
1,  6-8).  The  Levites  who  have  had  charge  of  the  various 
local  sanctuaries  shall  go  to  Jerusalem  and  share  alike 
in  the  labors  and  rewards  of  the  Temple  priests  (18.  6-8). 
Josiah  was  not  able  to  put  the  country  priests  upon  an 
equality  with  their  brethren  of  the  Temple.  See  2  Kings 
23.  9.  (2)  This  code  contemplates  a  succession  of 
prophets  (18.  15-22).  The  prophet  is  the  chief  inter- 
preter of  the  divine  will.  The  truth  of  his  predictive 
statements  is  the  attestation  of  his  office. 

The  Development  of  Hebrew  Law 

In  any  primitive  community  custom  is  the  law.  The 
head  of  the  family  is  the  judge  who  administers  the  af- 
fairs of  his  clan  according  to  the  established  usage.  When 
the  Hebrews  entered  Palestine  they  carried  with  them  un- 
doubtedly a  group  of  commandments  engraved  on  stone 
setting  forth  certain  regulations  of  worship.  Those  in 
charge  of  the  ark,  by  some  form  of  sacred  lot,  rendered 
decisions  in  cases  where  the  head  of  the  clan  felt  that  the 
case  required  a  divine  judgment.  This  clan  rulership  is 
illustrated  in  the  story  of  Judah  and  Tamar  (Genesis  38) 
and  in  the  headship  of  Joash  in  Ophrah  (Judges  6.  30). 
But  with  the  entrance  into  Canaan  and  the  assumption  of 
more  settled  forms  of  life  the  authority  of  the  clan  chief 
gradually  gave  way  to  the  older  men  of  the  villages,  who 
rendered  decisions  according  to  customs.  Judges  11. 
4-11  illustrates  this  stage  of  Hebrew  administration  of 


PROVISIONS  FOR  WORSHIP  85 

laws.  New  situations  arose  from  time  to  time,  and  these 
elders  naturally  gave  new  interpretations  to  old  precepts 
or  formulated  new  usages  to  meet  new  conditions.  These 
elders  constituted  the  judiciary  of  Israel  for  centuries. 
The  rise  of  the  monarchy  did  not  greatly  disturb  their 
prerogatives.  The  king  was  the  chief  judge,  and  in  the 
course  of  time  there  were  associated  with  him  certain 
officials  who  were  his  representatives.  The  reigns  of  David 
and  Solomon  offer  illustration  of  this  arrangement.  Na- 
both's  trial  before  the  elders  and  nobles  of  Jezreel  (1 
Kings  21.  8)  indicates  a  fusion  of  the  ordinary  villages 
and  royal  courts.  Even  under  such  conditions  decisions 
were  rendered  according  to  ancient  practice. 

During  these  centuries  there  were  innumerable  cases 
where  the  elders  who  were  in  perplexity  or  the  individual 
seeking  light  in  a  doubtful  hour  turned  to  the  sanctuary 
for  the  judgment  of  Jehovah.  Such  judgments  were  ren- 
dered by  the  priest,  who,  being  more  conversant  with 
usage,  rendered  his  decision  according  to  the  custom,  or 
who  manipulated  the  sacred  lot,  and  the  decision  thus 
reached  was  accepted  as  the  judgment  of  Jehovah. 

In  the  course  of  time  the  ancient  practice  was  codified. 
This  first  written  Hebrew  code,  with  the  exception  of  the 
Sinaitic  tables,  is  known  as  the  Book  of  the  Covenant.  This 
is  found  in  Exodus  20.  2  to  23.  19.  This  includes  a  Deca- 
logue, certain  regulations  of  worship,  and  various  laws 
dealing  with  property.  Exodus  34  undoubtedly  contains 
equally  old  written  regulations.  The  elders  of  villages 
and  towns  are  the  judges  presupposed  by  the  Book  of 
the  Covenant.  These  earliest  written  laws  codified  the 
prevailing  practice  and  were  intended  for  the  use  of  priests 
in  their  decisions  at  the  sanctuaries. 

The  development  of  Hebrew  law  did  not  cease  with  this 
codification  in  the  ninth  century.  Elders  and  priests  con- 
stantly were  expanding  older  regulations  to  meet  new  con- 
ditions. The  Deuteronomic  Code  was  not  an  entirely  new 
body  of  laws.  Its  comparison  with  the  Book  of  the  Cove- 
nant shows  its  dependence  on  the  earlier  legislation.  The 
new  code  is  chiefly  concerned  with  the  uprooting  of  for- 


86  THE  EELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

eign  worship,  the  limitation  of  worship  to  Jerusalem,  and 
certain  humanitarian  provisions  in  response  to  the  social 
preaching  of  the  eighth-century  prophets.  This  latter  ele- 
ment will  be  examined  in  the  following  lesson. 

Summary 

From  the  preceding  chapter,  as  well  as  from  this  study, 
the  student  will  observe  the  importance  of  this  Deutero- 
nomic  Code :  (1)  It  was  the  basis  of  Josiah's  reforms.  (2) 
It  was  adopted  in  a  public  assembly  as  the  code  of  the 
realm.  (3)  It  contained  the  revolutionary  provision  of 
the  central  sanctuary  and  the  consequent  varied  changes 
in  the  social  and  religious  life  of  the  people.  It  gave  a 
new  meaning  to  sacrifice.  (4)  It  was  based  upon  the 
prophetic  demand  for  the  sole  worship  of  Jehovah,  the 
end  of  idolatry,  and  social  justice.  (5)  It  did  not  rise 
to  the  spiritual  heights  of  the  prophets  in  two  particulars : 
(a)  It  clung  to  the  sacrificial  system  as  the  mode  of  wor- 
ship. Perhaps  these  lawmakers  understood  the  conserva- 
tism of  the  people  better  than  did  the  prophets.  At  any 
rate,  they  deemed  that  the  time  had  not  yet  come  for  a 
nonsacrificial  worship,  (h)  It  gave  no  hint  of  a  Mes- 
sianic age.  It  is  probable  that  the  author  of  the  code  be- 
lieved that  its  acceptance  and  practice  would  constitute 
that  golden  era  of  which  Isaiah  had  dreamed. 

The  student  cannot  overstudy  this  important  body  of 
laws.  It  was  a  turning  point  in  many  ways  in  Hebrew 
religious  life.  It  is  the  beginning  of  the  death  of  proph- 
etism  and  the  first  definite  forecast  of  the  legal  Judaism 
of  later  centuries.  But  it  enforced  in  a  new  way  the 
monotheism  of  the  prophets  and  perpetuated  that  vision 
for  the  world. 

Studies  for  the  Quiet  Hour 

What  is  the  relation  between  law  an^d  life?  To  what 
extent  must  a  law  embody  custom  to  become  effective? 
Why  do  we  have  so  many  dead  laws  upon  our  statute 
books  ?    Ask  some  attorney  to  estimate  the  nurnber  of  laws 


PKOVISIONS  FOR  WORSHIP  87 

in  your  State  toward  the  enforcement  of  which  little  or 
no  effort  is  made. 

To  what  extent  is  reform  by  law  possible?  Does  this 
depend  on  the  form  of  government?  In  America  what  is 
the  chief  support  of  law?  In  what  cases  is  one  justified 
in  the  violation  of  law  ?  What  must  be  the  ultimate  sanc- 
tion of  law? 

In  Josiah's  reforms  we  have  an  instance  of  the  wise 
regulation  of  worship  by  the  state.  Is  the  separation  of 
church  and  state  in  America  a  sound  political  principle? 
If  compulsory  education  is  justifiable,  why  is  not  an  en- 
forced moral  and  religious  training  conducive  to  the  wel- 
fare of  the  state  ?  Is  the  opposition  to  the  state's  religious 
and  moral  instruction  of  the  youth  due  to  the  fact  that 
such  position  is  fundamentally  wrong  or  to  the  practical 
difiSculties  of  such  education?  If  the  principle  is  sound, 
ought  not  all  educators,  both  secular  and  religious,  to 
give  themselves  unweariedly  to  devise  some  method  of  re- 
ligious and  moral  training  authorized  and  enforced  by  the 
state  ? 

This  code  was  formulated  in  one  of  the  darkest  hours  of 
Hebrew  history.  The  reign  of  Manasseh  seemed  to  have 
undone  the  hard-won  results  of  the  great  prophets.  But  in 
these  years  of  disloyalty  to  Jehovah  and  to  his  noblest 
champions  other  servants  of  his  were  bringing  together  the 
neglected  laws,  giving  them  new  interpretations,  and  mak- 
ing new  demands  of  Judah  in  the  name  of  Jehovah.  De- 
feat for  the  man  of  God  is  the  summons  to  another  battle. 
However  much  our  civilization  seems  shadowed  by  war, 
greed,  and  lust,  we  may  labor  on  unweariedly  to  uphold 
the  cause  of  righteousness.  The  kingdom  of  God  cannot  be 
set  aside  by  the  ignorance  and  passions  of  men. 

"Thou  shalt  love  Jehovah  thy  God.''  Here  is  some- 
thing new  in  religion.  During  the  whole  of  the  nation's 
past  men  had  been  taught  to  stand  in  awe  before  Jehovah 
and,  often,  to  fear  him.  The  fathers  of  the  nation  trembled 
in  fear  before  the  thunderings  of  Sinai  (Judges  6.  4,  5). 
"The  fear  of  Jehovah"  had  become  a  synonym  of  religion 
(Isaiah  29.  13) .    Men  had  been  taught  to  worship  Jehovah, 


88  THE  RELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

to  offer  sacrifices  to  him,  to  refrain  from  careless  and  in- 
sincere use  of  his  name  in  daily  speech ;  but  they  had  not 
been  taught  that  their  first  duty  was  to  love  him.  How 
shall  we  cultivate  love  for  God?  Out  of  what  situations 
among  human  beings  does  true  love  spring?  What  origi- 
nates and  maintains  the  love  of  husband  and  wife?  Ac- 
quaintance, similarity  of  interests,  experiences  undergone 
together,  common  ideals  and  struggles — these  are  the  woof 
and  warp  of  full,  enduring  love.  The  color  of  the  eyes,  the 
tale  of  years,  the  housing  of  the  home — these  are  incidental 
in  the  epic  of  their  love.  The  love  that  lives  is  truly  spir- 
itual. We  can  learn  to  love.  Let  us  seek  His  interests  and 
objectives,  and  we  shall  draw  near  him  and  be  drawn  unto 
him. 

Hebrew  fathers  were  exhorted  to  teach  the  love  of  Je- 
hovah to  their  children.  To  teach  love  is  the  Deuteronomic 
ideal.  We  teach  a  multitude  of  other  things.  We  teach  our 
children  deception,  suspicion,  selfishness,  pleasures,  de- 
sire for  wealth,  snobbishness,  love  of  display,  craving  for 
praise.  We  teach  them  arithmetic,  music,  and  dancing. 
Germany  taught  her  youth  war.  During  a  half  century 
her  youth  were  instructed  in  the  "superiority"  of  Ger- 
man civilization  and  the  mission  of  Germany  to  extend 
her  civilization  into  other  lands.  We  teach  class  distinc- 
tions and  race  antipathies.  We  organize  propagandas  for 
and  against  every  public  issue.  It  is  time  that  we  taught 
love.  We  can  teach  good  will.  We  can  cultivate  frater- 
nalism.  We  can  inculcate  love  for  God.  The  proposed 
Hebrew  method  never  has  been  surpassed.  When  religion 
— not  a  catechism — is  systematically  taught  to  children; 
when  it  is  the  subject  of  daily  conversation ;  when  it  mani- 
fests itself  in  the  books,  magazines,  pictures,  and  music 
in  our  homes;  when  it  takes  precedence  over  business; 
when  it  appears  a  living,  lovable,  and  essential  part  of 
our  daily  life,  then  we  will  teach  naturally  love  and 
religion.  All  vital  religion  is  taught.  Its  ideas,  its  ex- 
periences, its  conduct,  flash  their  truth  and  reality  from 
one  generation  to  another.  But  we  must  know  what  we 
would  teach  to  others. 


PROVISIONS  FOR  WORSHIP  89 


Additional  Tests  of  Lesson  Mastery 

1.  Upon  what  did  the  Deuteronomic  Code  base  the  demand 
that  Jehovah  only  should  be  worshiped? 

2.  What  constituted  the  offense  in  the  worship  of  other 
deities? 

3.  What  provision  of  the  code  was  the  most  revolutionary? 

4.  What  significant  change  was  made  in  the  killing  of 
animals  for  food? 

5.  What  use  according  to  this  code  was  to  be  made  of  the 
tithe?    What  sources  of  income  were  tithed? 

6.  Why  did  these  reformers  put  a  stop  to  the  worship  of  the 
local  sanctuaries? 

7.  What  became  of  the  country  priests? 

8.  What  distinction  was  made  in  Israel  and  Judah  between 
civil  and  religious  law?  Who  were  the  administrators  of  fhe 
law? 

9.  What  new  spirit  now  pervades  Hebrew  law  through  the 
adoption  of  the  Deuteronomic  Code? 

Valuable  Illustrative  Readings 

Deuteronomy,  G.  A.  Smith,  in  "Cambridge  Bible  for  Schools 
and  Colleges."  No  single  volume  offers  the  student  so  much 
help.  The  introduction  to  this  commentary  is  exceedingly 
worth  knowing. 

Article  "Deuteronomy"  in  the  Encyclopedia  Britannica  and 
also  in  Dictionary  of  the  Bible,  Hastings,  Sections  IV  and  VII. 

Articles  "Law  and  Justice"  and  "Law  Literature"  in  the 
Encyclopedia  Biblica  may  be  consulted  for  the  development 
of  Hebrew  law. 


CHAPTER  IX 

DEUTERONOMIC  PROVISIONS   FOR   SOCIAL 
WELFARE 

It  will  be  recalled  that  the  eighth-century  prophets 
insisted  upon  social  justice  and  righteousness.  Greed  of 
power  and  wealth,  love  of  ease,  and  sensual  desire  had 
well-nigh  destroyed  the  last  vestiges  of  the  old  clan  broth- 
erhood in  both  Israel  and  Judah.  These  prophets  pleaded 
for  a  social  reorganization  of  Hebrew  society.  Humani- 
tarian motives  were  the  crying  need  in  every  department 
of  Judah's  life.  So  insistent  was  this  need  that  the 
prophets  believed  that  social  justice  and  love  were  the 
supreme  expressions  of  religion.  Micah's  summary  of 
religion  will  be  remembered:  "What  doth  Jehovah  re- 
quire of  thee,  but  to  do  justly,  and  to  love  kindness,  and 
to  walk  humbly  with  thy  God?"  (6.  8). 

The  Deuteronomic  writers  responded  to  this  humani- 
tarian appeal  of  the  prophets;  they  attempted  to  intro- 
duce into  Jewish  law  the  prophetic  social  ideal.  They 
did  not  go  as  far  as  the  great  prophets  in  minimizing 
sacrifices  but  they  planned  more  than  the  priestly  order 
would  practice. 

Humanitarian   Provisions 

The  Amalgamation  of  War. —  (a)  Exemptions  from 
military  service. —  (1)  Release  from  service  was  granted 
to  the  man  who  had  built  a  house  and  had  not  yet  dedi- 
cated it.  Among  primitive  Semitic  peoples  to-day  a  new 
house  must  be  dedicated  by  a  sacrifice.  "Every  house 
must  have  its  death — a  man,  woman,  child,  or  animal." 
To  sacrifice  an  animal  redeems  the  inmate  of  the  house 
from  disaster.  Hence,  to  enter  into  war  with  the  dedica- 
tory sacrifice  unoffered  subjects  the  man  to  the  maximum 
chances  of  death,     (2)   The  man  who  had  not  yet  par- 

90 


PROVISIONS  FOR  SOCIAL  WELFARE        91 

taken  of  the  fruits  of  his  vineyard  was  exempted.  Since 
it  was  not  until  the  fifth  year  after  planting  that  the 
vintner  could  enjoy  the  rewards  of  his  labor,  the  provi- 
sion seems  intended  to  give  a  man  a  chance  to  enjoy  the 
blessings  of  his  labor  before  he  shall  be  required  to  jeop- 
ardize his  life  in  battle.  (3)  The  humane  motive  is 
apparent  in  the  dismissing  of  the  man  engaged  to  be 
married. 

(b)  Treatment  of  captured  cities. — It  was  the  accepted 
belief  among  primitive  Semitic  peoples  that  the  inhabit- 
ants and  their  possessions  found  in  a  captured  city  should 
be  utterly  destroyed.  Mesha,  king  of  Moab,  on  the  famous 
Moabite  stone  states  that  he  devoted  an  entire  town  in  this 
manner  to  his  deity.  The  narrative  in  1  Samuel  15 
expresses  the  same  conception.  As  this  latter  narrative 
indicates,  however,  there  was  being  developed  the  feel- 
ing that  this  was  a  harsh  procedure.  The  Deuteronomic 
legislation  embodies  this  growing  humane  sentiment.  Ex- 
amine Deuteronomy  20.  10-18. 

(c)  Preservation  of  the  enemy's  fruit  trees. — Read  20. 
19,  20.  The  barbarous  practice  of  destroying  fruit  trees 
was  not  uncommon  in  ancient  times.  Assyrian  monarchs 
resorted  to  the  destruction  of  orchards  in  their  campaigns. 
Even  Israel  once  thought  it  a  justifiable  method  of  at- 
tack (2  Kings  3.  19,  25).  In  the  light  of  events  in  the 
war  with  Germany  the  Hebrew  legislation  shines  exceed- 
ingly luminous  in  its  morality. 

(d)  Consideration  for  captive  women  (21.  10-14). — 
Ordinarily  women  taken  in  war  became  at  once  the  con- 
cubines of  their  new  masters. 

Family  Kelationships. —  (a)  Sex  relations. — A  com- 
parison of  Exodus  22.  16,  17  with  Deuteronomy  22.  28, 
29  shows  the  attempt  to  make  seduction  a  less  attractive 
offense  against  the  social  order.  Divorce  is  discussed  in 
22.  18,  19,  28,  29;  24.  2-4.  Exodus  21.  7-11  deals  with 
the  dismissal  of  a  slave-wife.  Neither  code  goes  far 
toward  securing  woman  an  equality  with  man.  The 
woman,  even  in  the  later  code,  possesses  no  right  to  di- 
vorce her  husband.     Adultery  is  severely  punished  (Deu- 


91^  THE  RELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

teronomy  22.  22-24).  Religious  prostitution  is  forbidden 
(Deuteronomy  23.  17,  18).  The  levirate  marriage  (Deu- 
teronomy 25.  5-10)  is  another  survival  of  the  unfortu- 
nate subordination  of  woman  to  man.  For  the  perpetua- 
tion of  the  name  of  a  childless  husband  the  woman  is 
ruthlessly  sacrified.  Yet  it  is  probable  that  in  some  meas- 
ure this  levirate  law  is  an  amelioration  of  earlier  condi- 
tions. Deuteronomy  21.  15-17  secures  the  property  rights 
of  the  first-born  son  against  an  unjust  favoritism. 

(b)  Servants  and  slaves. — The  prompt  payment  of  the 
day  laborer  (24.  14,  15)  is  a  fine  humanitarian  provision, 
which  undoubtedly  corrected  a  flagrant  abuse.  The  hu- 
manitarian difference  of  the  two  codes  is  strikingly  illus- 
trated in  the  provision  affecting  the  manumission  of  slaves. 
Study  Exodus  21.  2-4  and  Deuteronomy  15.  12-15.  What 
advance  is  made  in  the  later  legislation  ?  Both  codes  pro- 
vide for  permanent  slavery  (Exodus  21.  5,  6;  Deuteron- 
omy 15.  16,  17).  What  is  the  difference  in  method?  What 
provisions  are  made  for  the  religious  life  of  slaves  ?  (Deu- 
teronomy 5.  14;  12.  17,  18;  16.  10-11).  What  is  the 
rule  for  fugitive  slaves?  (23.  15,  16).  What  class  of 
slaves  is  here  contemplated? 

Consideration  for  the  Weak  and  Dependent. — (a) 
Alien  residents  in  Judah. — For  a  variety  of  reasons  men 
and  women  from  other  states  settled  more  or  less  per- 
manently among  the  Hebrews.  Ruth,  a  Moabitess,  took  up 
her  residence  with  her  mother-in-law  in  Bethlehem.  Such 
persons  were  deprived  of  the  protection  and  support  cus- 
tomarily given  the  individual  by  his  family  or  clan.  These 
alien  residents  often  must  have  felt  their  insecure  social 
position.  No  code  of  laws  previous  to  the  Deuteronomic 
legislation  secured  them  any  legal  rights.  There  was  the 
injunction  not  to  oppress  these  sojourners  (Exodus  22. 
21).  They  were  required  to  observe  the  Sabbath  (20.  10) 
but  they  were  not  to  share  in  the  Passover  (12.  45). 
The  Deuteronomic  Code  declared  that  Jehovah  loves 
these  strangers  and  commands  the  Hebrew  also  to  love 
them  (10.  18).  Loans  made  to  them,  as  well  as  to  fellow 
Hebrews,  must  be  without  interest  (23.  20),  and  such 


PROVISIONS  FOR  SOCIAL  WELFARE        93 

loans  are  to  be  canceled  in  the  year  of  release  (15.  3).  The 
provision  for  the  payment  of  wages  of  the  poor  laborer  at 
the  close  of  the  day  includes  the  sojourner  (24.  14).  Jus- 
tice is  enjoined  toward  these  resident  aliens  (24.  17). 
These  provisions  are  a  distinct  advance  in  humanitarian- 
ism. 

(b)  Kindness  and  justice  toward  widows,  orphans,  and 
other  poor. — These  persons  are  under  Jehovah's  special 
protection,  and  any  injustice  or  want  of  kindness  toward 
them  will  be  brought  to  account  (10.  18).  The  continued 
presence  of  poor  persons  is  recognized  (15.  7-11),  and  it 
is  the  duty  of  the  propertied  Hebrews  to  befriend  and 
aid  their  economically  weaker  fellow  citizens.  They  must 
not  take  in  pledge  the  necessary  household  articles  (24. 
6) ;  the  lender  of  money  must  not  enter  a  man's  house 
to  select  the  article  to  be  mortgaged  (24.  10) ;  the  pledged 
garments  of  the  poor  must  be  returned  each  evening  for 
the  latter's  use  (24.  13) ;  the  wages  of  the  poor  must  be 
paid  daily  (24.  15).  The  clothing  of  a  widow  must  not 
be  taken  in  pledge  (24.  17).  Orphans  and  widows  must 
be  permitted  freely  to  glean  in  the  grain  fields,  vineyards, 
and  orchards  (24.  19-21).  They  are  to  share  in  the  dis- 
tribution of  the  third  year's  tithe  (24.  19)  and  are  to 
participate  in  the  feasting  of  the  annual  festivals  of  sacri- 
fice (16.  11,  14). 

(c)  The  Levite. — Note  the  special  provision  for  the 
Levite  along  with  other  dependents.  Study  14.  22-27 
and  observe  what  is  done  with  this  tithe  for  two  successive 
years.  What  disposition  is  made  of  the  third  year's  tithe  ? 
(14.  28,  29;  26,  12-15).  In  this  last  section  observe  the 
three  acts  which  would  have  desecrated  the  tithe. 

{d)  Note  the  provisions  against  stealing  land  (19.  14) 
and  false  weights  and  measures  (25.  13-16). 

Kindness  to  Animals. — In  two  instances  the  prevailing 
humaneness  of  this  code  is  extended  to  animals.  The  ox 
and  ass  are  included  in  the  old  provision  for  cessation 
of  work  on  the  Sabbath  (5.  14),  and  the  ox  used  to  trample 
out  the  grain  on  the  threshing  fioor  is  not  to  be  muzzled 
(25.  4). 


94  THE  RELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

The  Administration  of  Justice. —  {a)  The  courts. — 
Eead  16.  18;  19.  11;  17.  8-11  and  state  the  provisions  for 
the  securing  of  justice.  It  will  be  noted  tliat  the  judiciary 
is  in  process  of  transition.  In  some  cases  the  elders  of 
the  city  constitute  the  tribunal.  What  cases  are  brought 
before  them?  (22.  13-16;  25.  5-10;  21.  18-21).  It  is 
quite  probable  that  the  judges  were  selected  from  the  el- 
ders and  were  intended  to  constitute  a  smaller  and,  there- 
fore, more  effective  court.  Note  the  constitution  of  the 
supreme  court  in  17.  8-11.  It  is  probable  that  the  judge 
of  verse  9  is  the  king  and  that  he  associated  with  himself 
the  Jerusalem  priests  in  this  court  of  appeal.  What  cases 
might  come  before  this  court? 

(&)  Principles  for  guidance  of  the  courts. — Read  16. 
19.  An  early  law  of  similar  purport  (Exodus  23.  6-8), 
according  to  the  witness  of  the  prophets,  had  been  sadly 
disregarded.  What  provision  for  punishment  graded  ac- 
cording to  guilt  is  given  in  25.  1-3?  Note  the  provision 
for  contempt  of  court  in  17.  12,  13.  An  exceedingly 
significant  regulation  is  found  in  24.  16.  Compare  this 
law  with  the  incident  in  2  Kings  14.  5,  6.  The  compiler 
of  the  book  of  Kings,  writing  a  considerable  period  after 
the  event  and  later  than  Josiah's  reform,  here  refers  to  the 
Deuteronomic  Code.  This  historical  note  of  the  sparing 
of  the  innocent  members  of  a  guilty  family  is  the  earliest 
reference  to  a  change  from  the  primitive  rule  that  re- 
garded all  members  of  a  clan  equally  guilty  with  the  ac- 
tual committer  of  the  crime.  This  individualization  of 
guilt  and  punishment  is  a  striking  advance  in  Hebrew 
thought.  It  not  only  is  a  braak  from  barbarous  cruelty 
but  it  opens  the  way  for  the  spiritual  worship  of  the  in- 
dividual; it  denotes  a  deepening  significance  of  individual 
life.  A  sense  of  social  obligation  and  responsibility  is  an 
element  of  the  highest  civilization,  but  equally  necessary 
is  the  feeling  that  the  individual,  in  the  last  analysis,  is 
the  unit  of  life. 

(c)  Examine  the  law  of  witnesses  in  17.  6,  7;  19.  15-21. 
To  what  extent  would  such  methods  prevent  unjust  ac- 
cusations and  just  trials  ? 


PKOVISIONS  FOR  SOCIAL  WELFARE        95 

Laws  Relating  to  the  King. — The  qualifications  and 
duties  of  the  king  are  stated  in  17.  14-20.  Recall  the 
various  kings  of  Israel  and  Judah  and  state  the  limita- 
tions of  the  kingship  here  imposed.  Examine  too  the 
qualifications  for  citizenship  treated  in  23.  1-8. 

HUMANITARIANISM    AND    JUSTICE 

It  is  not  to  be  understood  that  the  Deuteronomic  legis- 
lation did  not  contain  severe  penalties  or  that  it  rose 
to  modern  heights  of  humane  conceptions  of  social  re- 
lationships. Stern  penalties  were  provided  for  infrac- 
tions of  the  principle  that  Jehovah  alone  is  to  be  wor- 
shiped. Death  is  the  common  penalty  for  all  who  wor- 
ship other  gods  or  who  solicit  worshipers  for  non-Hebraic 
rites.  The  law  regarding  the  cities  of  refuge  illustrates 
the  combination  of  humanitarianism  and  severity  and  at 
the  same  time  exemplifies  the  stern  sense  of  justice  which 
pervades  the  code. 

Read  19.  1-3.  In  former  times  all  persons  who  had 
killed  another  were  subject  to  the  law  of  blood  revenge. 
It  was  the  duty  of  the  nearest  of  kin  of  the  slain  man  to 
avenge  his  death.  The  actual  murderer,  if  he  were  known, 
was  slain  at  once  by  the  interested  relative  or  was  turned 
over  to  the  relatives  of  the  dead  man  for  punishment  by 
death.  If  the  actual  murderer  could  not  be  apprehended, 
any  member  of  the  clan  or  family  of  the  murderer  could 
be  substituted  to  receive  the  death  penalty.  See  1  Kings 
2.  28-33.  Those  who  had  slain  another  usually  sought 
refuge  at  a  sanctuary  (Exodus  21.  12-14;  1  Kings  1. 
50).  When  the  law  of  the  single  sanctuary  was  introduced 
by  the  Deuteronomic  Code  to  protect  excusable  homicides 
from  the  punishment  required  by  the  custom  of  blood 
revenge,  it  was  necessary  to  designate  certain  cities  to 
be  asylums  for  those  who  had  committed  manslaughter. 
If  the  elders  of  such  cities  were  convinced  that  the  killing 
was  intentional,  the  murderer  was  delivered  to  the  kins- 
men of  the  slain  man,  who  promptly  put  the  criminal  to 
death.  This  seems  to  be  the  first  provision  for  any 
public  and  official  determination  of  the  guilt  of  the  homi- 


96  THE  RELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

cide.  It  is  the  first  legislation  in  Hebrew  life  which  dis- 
tinguishes between  accidental  and  intentional  killing.  It 
is  the  only  Semitic  legislation  which  does  not  compromise 
murder  by  the  payment  of  fines. 

SUMMAKY 

It  already  has  been  stated  that  this  Deuteronomic  law 
book,  which  was  found  by  Hilkiah  in  the  Temple  in  621 
B.  C.  and  which  was  the  basis  of  the  reforms  of  Josiah, 
was  written  in  the  reign  of  either  Manasseh  or  Josiah 
by  persons  who  had  caught  the  spirit  of  the  great  eighth- 
century  prophets.  The  study  of  the  code  has  made  this 
evident.  It  is  based  upon  older  legislation,  but  even  in 
case  of  ancient  laws  nearly  every  one  of  them  is  given 
new  interpretations  and  additions  that  demand  a  more 
spiritual  worship  and  a  greater  expression  of  humanitar- 
ianism  and  social  justice.  The  language  of  7.  6-8  is  an 
example  of  this  prophetic  inspiration  of  the  codifiers  of  the 
book  of  law.  "Thou  art  a  holy  people  unto  Jehovah  thy 
God'^  is  a  reflection  of  Isaiah's  inaugural  vision,  and  the 
assertion  that  Jehovah  had  chosen  Judah  above  all  peo- 
ples is  an  echo  of  Isaiah's  triumph  in  the  deliverance  of 
Jerusalem  and  his  Messianic  hope.  The  love  of  Jehovah 
so  often  declared  and  the  answering  love  of  Israel  so 
eloquently  pleaded  for  by  Hosea  and  the  social  justice 
demanded  by  all  the  prophets  everywhere  are  evident  in 
this  seventh-century  compilation  of  law. 

A  new  departure  is  the  code's  insistence  that  the  peo- 
ple should  become  conversant  with  the  law.  Read  atten- 
tively 6.  4-9.  This  passage  and  11.  13-21  and  Numbers 
15.  37-41  make  up  the  famous  Jewish  Shema,  or  confes- 
sion of  faith.  This  Shema  is  taught  to  children  before 
they  learn  to  read  and  is  included  in  the  morning  and 
evening  prayers  of  every  pious  Jew.  The  New-Testament 
student  will  recall  Christ's  estimate  of  the  opening  words 
(Mark  12.  29).  The  student  ought  to  memorize  6.  4-7. 
Knowledge  of  the  law  and  reverence  for  it  ever  are  funda- 
mentals of  good  government. 

This  chapter,  with  the  preceding  two,  must  impress  the 


PROVISIONS  FOR  SOCIAL  WELFARE        97 

student  that  Deuteronomy  is  one  of  the  world's  epoch- 
making  books.  It  profoundly  affected  the  whole  of  sub- 
sequent Jewish  life.  The  prophets  raised  the  question, 
What  doth  Jehovah  require  of  thee?  The  Deuteronomists 
answered,  as  the  prophets  had  answered:  We  must  love 
Jehovah  with  every  element  of  our  very  being.  His  love 
surrounds  us  and  constantly  ministers  to  us.  We  must 
return  his  love  by  an  uncompromising  and  abiding  affec- 
tion. This  affection  for  Jehovah  will  express  itself  in 
justice  and  kindness  toward  all  his  creatures.  The  socially 
insecure  must  become  the  objects  of  the  love  and  gener- 
osity of  the  more  favored.  The  nation  is  a  community  of 
brothers.  The  state  is  a  family.  It  is  impossible  to  be 
religious  and  at  the  same  time  be  wanting  in  the  humane 
social  virtues.  This  union  of  religion  and  social  service 
is  the  code's  abiding  glory. 

Questions  for  Civilization  Builders 

The  leading  element  of  the  seventh-century  Hebrew 
ideal  of  human  welfare  is  material  prosperity.  Large 
families,  numerous  flocks  and  herds,  and  abundant  crops 
(Deuteronomy  28.  11)  are  the  Deuteronomist's  conception 
of  a  prosperous  state.  Will  an  increasing,  well-fed  popula- 
tion guarantee  a  perfect  social  order  ?  Is  the  goal  of  human 
life  happiness  for  all?  To  what  extent  is  human  happi- 
ness dependent  on  wealth?  Are  people  living  to-day  as  if 
they  believed  that  happiness  depended  on  well-dressed  and 
well-fed  bodies?  If  wealth  in  itself  is  not  a  guarantee  of 
happiness,  would  an  equality  of  wealth  make  men  happy? 
If  we  hold  that  happiness  is  dependent  on  bodily  comfort, 
how  shall  such  wealth  be  secured  to  all?  If  we  agree  that 
wealth  is  not  fundamental  to  human  happiness,  how  shall 
we  go  about  enlightening  the  ignorant  people  who  still 
think  wealth  a  guaranty  of  the  satisfied  life  ? 

This  Deuteronomic  legislation  sets  up  an  ideal  of  human 
kindliness.  It  is  an  attempt  to  embrace  all  Hebrews  in 
one  family  and  so  instill  in  the  rich  and  powerful  a  fellow 
feeling  for  the  humblest  member  of  the  state.     To  what 


98  THE  EELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

extent  is  such  sentiment  an  essential  in  civilization?  Is 
such  brotherhood  possible  in  a  social  order  whose  members 
stand  upon  a  widely  contrasted  economic  footing?  Can 
human  brotherhood  exist  in  a  state  whose  citizens  range 
from  paupers  to  plutocrats?  Could  it  be  absent  from  a 
state  whose  every  citizen  is  a  millionaire  ?  What  forces  in 
to-day's  civilization  are  making  for  human  brotherhood  ? 

The  Deuteronomic  Code  is  largely  the  embodiment  of 
the  vision  of  Hebrew  eighth-century  prophets.  If  humani- 
tarian preaching  must  precede  humanitarian  law,  is  there 
not  cut  out  for  you  both  opportunity  and  duty?  Are  you 
not  in  error  to  attack  no  abuses  because  you  have  no  po- 
litical power?  The  preacher  is  ever  the  pioneer  of  the 
legislator.  All  wrongs  must  be  denounced  by  the  prophet 
before  they  are  condemned  by  a  code.  An  evil  must  be 
made  a  vice  before  it  can  be  a  crime.  You  may  not  be  in 
position  to  label  an  injustice  a  crime,  but  as  long  as  God 
gives  you  breath,  you  can  proclaim  it  a  vice.  The  legis- 
lator makes  a  thing  a  crime;  the  prophet  makes  it  a 
vice.  If  you  believe  in  God,  your  work  is  cut  out  for  you. 
Set  yourself  so  vigorously  against  the  evils  of  the  day  that 
your  sons  will  write  your  visions  and  your  denunciations 
into  laws. 

Measueinq  Results 

The  student  should  seek  to  get  a  clear  conception  of  the 
Deuteronomic  social  ideals.  Reexamine  this  code  in  the  light 
of  the  following  questions: 

1.  What  forms  of  political  and  judicial  government  are  con- 
templated? 

2.  What  is  the  source  of  the  nation's  laws? 

3.  What  provision  is  made  for  additional  legislation? 

4.  What  form  of  economic  social  order  underlies  this  legis- 
lation? 

5.  What  industries  are  the  sources  of  wealth? 

6.  What  ideals  of  marriage  and  the  home  are  reflected  in  the 
code? 

7.  What  is  the  status  of  women? 

8.  What  educational  and  benevolent  institutions  are  fos- 
tered? 

9.  What  is  the  attitude  toward  alien  races? 

10.  How  does  this  correspond  with  previous  prophetic  teach- 
ing? 


PROVISIONS  FOR  SOCIAL  WELFARE        99 

11.  Judging  by  this  code,  what  is  the  Hebrew  seventh-cen- 
tury ideal  for  a  people's  welfare?     (28.  1-25,  38-40). 

12.  How  is  such  welfare  to  be  secured? 

13.  What  provision  is  made  for  the  enforcement  of  the 
code? 

14.  To  what  extent  is  public  opinion  recognized  to  be  the 
ultimate  guarantee  of  law  enforcement? 

15.  Judging  by  the  social  and  religious  conditions  at  the 
time  the  code  was  promulgated,  what  is  the  likelihood  that 
this  body  of  law  will  be  enforced? 

SUPPLEMENTAEY   MATERIAL   FOR   StUDY 

Deuteronomy  In  "The  Cambridge  Bible  for  Schools  and  Col- 
leges" is  a  most  excellent  commentary.  Note  especially  the 
discussion  of  "Tithes"  (pages  192-7) ;  "The  Year  of  Release" 
(pages  198-206);  "Cities  of  Refuge"  (pages  236-40);  and 
"Levirate  Marriage"  (pages  286-8). 

The  Old  Testament  in  the  Light  of  To-Bay,  Bade,  Chapter 
VIII,  is  an  appraisal  of  the  ethics  of  Deuteronomy. 


CHAPTER  X 

JEREMIAH:  PROPHET  OF  JUDAH'S  DECLINE 

The  preceding  three  chapters  carried  the  political  his- 
tory of  Judah  to  the  year  621  B.  C.  This  was  the  year 
of  the  discovery  of  the  Deuteronomic  law  book  and  the 
reforms  inaugurated  by  Josiah  to  carry  out  the  provisions 
of  this  code.  This  chapter  and  Chapters  XI  and  XII  deal 
with  the  remaining  history  of  the  southern  kingdom  until 
the  end  came  in  586  B.  C.  The  leading  figure  in  this 
sad  period  is  Jeremiah.  The  student  will  be  well  repaid 
for  a  most  painstaking  study  of  this  fascinating  char- 
acter. 

The  Political  Histoky  of  Judah's  Decline 

Josiah,  the  reformer,  lived  about  thirteen  years  after 
he  had  given  the  state  a  constitution,  in  621  B.  C.  There 
is  little  known  of  these  years.  In  view  of  the  fact  that 
within  a  few  months  after  his  death  there  was  a  sad  lapse 
toward  the  conditious  under  Manasseh  it  is  probable  that 
Josiah  was  kept  busy  during  these  years  endeavoring  to 
establish  fully  the  provisions  of  the  code.  Read  2  Kings 
23.  29,  30  for  the  account  of  Josiah^s  death.  The  Assyrian 
Empire  was  breaking  up  before  the  Medes  and  Baby- 
lonians. The  nation  no  longer  was  able  to  impose  its  iron 
rule  upon  the  west.  This  was  Egypt's  opportunity.  In 
608  B.  C,  Necho  II  led  his  armies  to  recover  the  west 
land  for  the  empire  of  the  Pharaohs.  Josiah,  either  as  a 
vassal  of  Assyria  or,  more  likely,  on  his  own  initiative, 
marched  to  give  the  invader  battle.  According  to  2  Kings 
23.  15-20  Josiah  was  free  to  impose  his  reform  of  worship 
upon  various  sanctuaries  in  the  former  territory  of  Israel. 
It  is  not  improbable  that  Josiah  was  impelled  by  the  hope 
of  extending  the  boundaries  of  Judah  to  the  former  limits 

100 


PEOPHET  OF  JUDAH'S  DECLINE  101 

of  Solomon's  kingdom.  Jeremiah  3.  12,  if  it  belongs  to 
the  times  of  Josiah,  may  have  encouraged  this  prince  in 
an  effort  to  widen  the  boundaries  of  his  kingdom. 

Jehoahaz,  Josiah's  son,  held  the  throne  of  Judah  only 
three  months.  See  2  Kings  23.  31-33  for  the  account  of 
his  death.  Jehoiakim,  another  son  of  Josiah,  was  set  upon 
the  throne  by  Necho  II  in  607,  and  Judah  became  the 
vassal  of  Egypt.  Necho's  prosperity  was  short-lived.  The 
Assyrian  Empire  was  dismembered  in  606  by  the  Medes 
and  Babylonians.  Nebuchadnezzar  led  the  Babylonian 
troops  to  retake  the  western  provinces  from  Egypt.  He 
met  Necho  at  Carchemish,  605  B.  C,  and  defeated  him. 
Judah  again  became  the  vassal  of  the  east.  Eead  2  Kings 
24.  1.  Jehoiakim's  revolt  was  not  immediately  punished 
in  force.  The  passage  2  Kings  24.  2  indicates  Nebuchad- 
nezzar's plan  to  harass  the  Judaean  state  until  he  could 
lead  a  western  campaign  to  subjugate  the  kingdom.  Jehoi- 
akim inherited  from  his  father  the  impending  doom  of 
Nebuchadnezzar's  wrath.  This  Babylonian  prince  led  his 
army  to  capture  the  rebellious  city.  The  passage  2  Kings 
24.  8-17  (with  the  exception  of  verses  13,  14)  preserves 
this  account  of  the  surrender  of  Jerusalem  and  the  first 
captivity.  This  occurred  in  597.  Other  western  cities  fell 
to  Nebuchadnezzar,  who  returned  to  Babylon  with  his  cap- 
tives and  tribute.  During  the  next  eight  or  nine  years 
Nebuchadnezzar  for  some  reason  gave  little  attention  to 
the  west.  This  relaxation  of  Babylonian  control  gave 
Egypt  another  opportunity.  Zedekiah,  uncle  of  Jehoia- 
chin,  whom  Nebuchadnezzar  raised  to  the  throne  in  597, 
listened  to  the  Egyptian  lure  (Jeremiah  37.  5-7)  and  re- 
volted against  Babylon.  Read  2  Kings  24.  18-20.  There 
could  be  only  one  end  to  such  folly.  The  account  of  the 
capture  of  Jerusalem  is  given  in  2  Kings  25.  1-22.  Study 
this  narrative  until  the  details  are  familiar.  The  date  is 
586.  The  history  of  the  southern  kingdom  ends  with  this 
catastrophe.  But  the  fortunes  of  the  scattered  people  are 
followed  a  few  steps  further  in  2  Kings  25.  23-26.  With 
the  flight  into  Eg}'pt  a  hopeless  shadow  palls  the  fortunes 
of  the  Hebrew  state. 


102  THE  RELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

Jeremiah  and  the  State 

Important  Events. — During  the  forty  or  more  years  of 
Jeremiah's  ministry  there  are  six  events  of  outstanding 
importance  which  greatly  influenced  his  prophetic  mes- 
sages. These  are  the  Deuteronomic  reform  under  Josiah 
in  621,  the  death  of  Josiah  in  608,  the  reaction  under 
Jehoiakim,  the  battle  of  Carchemish  in  605,  Jehoiachin's 
surrender  of  Jerusalem  in  596,  and  the  sacking  of  Jeru- 
salem in  586. 

Jeremiah,  as  we  have  seen  in  a  previous  chapter,  began 
his  ministry  before  the  promulgation  of  the  Deuteronomic 
Code  in  621.  It  is  a  moot  question  what  part  he  had  in  this 
reform.  He  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  composition  of 
the  book.  But  it  is  not  unlikely  that  he  entered  sym- 
pathetically into  the  effort  to  purge  worship  of  its  heathen- 
ism. Although  the  priestly  conception  of  worship  voiced 
by  the  code  was  foreign  to  Jeremiah's  thought,  there  was 
enough  of  good  in  it  to  enlist  his  support.  Read  Jeremiah 
11.  1-6.  The  prophet's  championship  of  the  code  brought 
him  into  collision  with  his  own  townsmen  of  Anathoth. 
Why  did  the  advocacy  of  the  reform  incense  them?  (11. 
18-23).  Jeremiah's  praise  of  Josiah  (22.  15,  16)  sug- 
gests also  that  he  would  have  found  it  easy  to  cooperate 
with  such  a  prince.  There  is  every  reason  to  suppose  that 
had  the  spirit  of  this  Deuteronomic  legislation  really  pos- 
sessed the  hearts  of  the  people  it  would  have  won  Jere- 
miah's support  to  the  end  of  his  life. 

lyioral  and  Religious  Relapse. — It  will  be  recalled  that 
the  Deuteronomic  Code  promised  the  people  a  God-fearing 
king  (Deuteronomy  17.  14-20),  a  prosperity,  a  numerous 
population,  and  a  wide  empire  (11.  22-25).  Josiah,  con- 
scious of  fulfilling  Jehovah's  demands,  may  have  gone  up 
to  Megiddo  to  meet  Necho  expecting  a  great  victory. 
The  latter  part  of  his  reign  had  verified  the  promises  of 
the  Deuteronomic  legislation.  Josiah  had  endeavored  to 
conform  the  state  to  the  law's  requirements.  Prosperity, 
peace,  and  the  outlook  for  extension  of  territory  followed. 
Then  came  the  king's  death  and  the  defeat  of  the  army  in 


PROPHET  OF  JUDAH'S  DECLINE  103 

608.  By  the  Deuteronomic  theory  this  was  inexplicable. 
The  reformers  were  discredited  by  this  tragedy  and  the 
sudden  fate  of  Jehoahaz.  A  reaction  set  in  in  favor  of  the 
religious  practices  introduced  by  Manasseh.  Preachers 
like  Jeremiah  were  out  of  favor.  A  new  wave  of  corrup- 
tion spread  across  civil  and  religious  life.  The  courts 
failed  to  secure  justice  (Jeremiah  7.  5) ;  orplians,  widows, 
and  aliens,  contrary  to  the  Deuteronomic  injunction,  were 
oppressed;  theft,  adultery,  false  oaths,  treachery,  lies,  op- 
pression, and  murder  were  outstanding  evidences  of  the 
social  anarchy  that  was  hurrying  the  state  toward  its  bit- 
ter end  (9.  3-9;  10.  10;  9.  4;  22.  3).  Even  the  prophets 
committed  adultery,  walked  in  lies,  and  strengthened  the 
hands  of  evildoers  (23.  14).  A  similar  riotousness  charac- 
terized worship.  Foreign  deities  again  had  altars  and  wor- 
shipers (7.  6;  11.  10);  astral  worship  was  a  common 
practice  (19.  13) ;  the  cult  of  the  queen  of  heaven  was 
reintroduced  (7.  18);  idolatry  was  widespread  (11.  13; 
13.  10;  18.  15;  19.  4) ;  human  sacrifice  again  was  offered 
in  the  valley  of  Hinnom  (7.  31;  Ezekiel  20.  26).  Ezekiel 
adds  other  details  of  the  religious  lapse  under  Jehoiakim. 
A  form  of  animal  worship,  some  mysterious  cult,  was 
practiced  by  prominent  citizens  within  the  Temple  (Ezekiel 
8.  7-13) .  The  Adonis  cult  again  prevailed  among  the  women 
of  Jerusalem  (8.  14,  15)  ;  the  worship  of  the  sun  openly 
was  carried  on  within  the  sanctuary  of  Jehovah  (8.  16- 

Jeeemiah's  Political  Messages 

An  Indictment  of  the  Nation's  Responsible  Leaders. — 

Upon  whom  did  Jeremiah  place  the  responsibility  of  this 
condition  ?  Eead  Jeremiah  22. 13-19.  Of  what  crimes  does 
he  accuse  Jehoiakim?  What  is  Jehoiakim's  conception  of 
the  kingship  ?  What  is  Jeremiah's  idea  of  the  duties  and 
prerogatives  of  a  ruling  prince?  What  is  the  inevitable 
end  of  the  ruler  who  mistakes  his  office?  Examine  also 
23.  1,  2  for  Jeremiah's  position  that  the  chief  blame  for 
the  impending  ruin  of  the  state  rests  with  Judah's  kings. 
Examine  7.  21-23;  8.  2;  13.  13,  14;  14.  18;  19.  1;  23,  11; 


104  THE  RELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

26.  7-9,  16.  What  is  Jeremiah's  attitude  toward  the  priest- 
hood? Of  what  evils  does  he  accuse  the  priests?  Note 
that  he  places  upon  them,  as  well  as  upon  the  princes,  the 
responsibility  for  the  ills  of  the  state.  Jeremiah  regarded 
the  priestly  order  as  the  chief  bulwark  of  the  false  doc- 
trine of  Jerusalem's  inviolability,  the  upholders  of  a  disas- 
trous and  unspiritual  conception  and  practice  of  worship. 
Observe  especially  7.  21-23.  This  is  a  far-reaching  ar- 
raignment of  centuries  of  Hebrew  worship.  Jeremiah 
boldly  asserts  that  the  whole  priestly  scheme  of  life  is 
inimical  to  Jehovah's  rule. 

The  prophets  too  were  untrustworthy  leaders.  Examine 
8.  1,  2;  13.  13,  14;  14.  18.  What  sins  does  Jeremiah  attrib- 
ute to  them?  Eead  14.  13-16.  What  is  the  burden  of  the 
message  of  these  "false  prophets"?  Was  their  prediction 
fulfilled?  What  constituted  their  falseness?  Were  they 
insincere  conscious  deceivers  or  were  they  merely  unable 
to  read  rightly  the  signs  of  the  times?  Was  it  their  fault 
that  they  cared  more  for  the  comforts  of  a  quiet  life  than 
for  the  advocacy,  in  the  midst  of  peril,  of  a  great  cause? 
Eead  also  23.  9-32.  Here  the  prophets  are  accused  of 
gross  sins,  their  messages  are  denied  a  divine  origin,  they 
encourage  lawlessness  and  irreligion  by  their  sermons, 
they  mistake  their  dreams  for  the  word  of  Jehovah.  Chap- 
ter 28  gives  a  specific  case  of  one  of  these  false  prophets 
and  his  message.  What  was  Hananiah's  message?  (28. 
2-4,  11).  What  gave  him  his  unwarranted  confidence  in 
the  continuance  of  the  Hebrew  state  ? 

The  Nation's  Future. — Early  in  the  reign  of  Jehoiakim, 
Jeremiah  delivered  a  sermon  in  the  Temple  in  which  he 
gave  his  expectations  of  the  future  destiny  of  his  people. 
This  discourse  is  found  in  7.  1  to  8.  3.  Additional  details 
are  given  in  26.  1-9.  Examine  7.  1-15.  Observe  that  the 
Isaian  faith  in  the  safety  of  Jerusalem  in  701  has  become 
a  dogma  of  the  city's  inviolability  by  607.  Thinking  that 
they  had  the  "temple  of  Jehovah,"  the  people  believed 
themselves  secure.  In  what  did  Jeremiah  ground  the 
hope  of  the  nation's  permanence?  What  example  is  of- 
fered of  Jehovah's  treatment  of  a  sanctuary  defiled  by 


PROPHET  OF  JUDAH'S  DECLINE  105 

ethical  misconduct?  What  is  his  portrayal  of  the  nation's 
future?  (7.  32;  8.  3;  9.  10,  11;  18.  17;  26.  1-7).  Ex- 
amine too  13.  20-27  for  the  emphatic  statement  that  the 
Jewish  state  is  so  habituated  to  evil  that  its  collapse  is 
inevitable. 

Jeremiah  clearly  foresaw  the  capture  of  Jerusalem  in 
597.  See  13.  18,  19;  22.  24-30.  Yet  he  did  not  preach  the 
annihilation  of  the  Hebrew  and  his  religion.  Read  the 
beautiful  parable  of  the  potter  in  18.  1-4.  What  is  the 
lesson  intended  here  by  Jeremiah?  See  also  the  hope 
that  he  extends  to  the  first  band  of  captives  (24.  1-6). 
These  exiles  carried  to  Babylon  in  597  were  settled  in 
certain  villages  along  the  Kabaru  Canal.  They  were  not 
dispersed  but,  living  in  a  colony,  were  able  to  preserve  their 
laws  and  customs.  Jeremiah's  letter  to  these  exiles  (29. 
4-14)  promises  them,  though  not  a  speedy,  a  sure  return 
to  Jerusalem.    The  seventy  years  is  a  round  number. 

Jerusalem  was  captured  and  sacked  by  the  Babylonians 
in  586.  The  siege  lasted  approximately  a  year.  Jeremiah 
constantly  advised  submission.  Read  21.  3-10.  During 
the  siege  the  Egyptians  approached  Palestine,  and  the 
Babylonians  temporarily  raised  the  siege  (37.  5).  Pre- 
vious to  this  apparent  deliverance,  in  the  stress  of  the 
siege,  the  Hebrew  slaves  had  been  set  free  by  their  repent- 
ant masters  in  accordance  with  the  demands  of  the  Deu- 
teronomic  Code.  But  as  soon  as  the  danger  seemed  passed, 
these  freedmen  were  reenslaved.  This  perfidy  of  the  peo- 
ple did  not  escape  the  scathing  denunciation  which  it  de- 
served. See  34.  8-22.  During  the  final  siege  Jeremiah 
was  imprisoned.  His  counsel  to  surrender  the  city  an- 
gered the  authorities.  The  whole  account  is  interesting 
(37.  11  to  38.  28). 

Yet  in  the  very  hour  of  Jerusalem's  destruction  Jere- 
miah heroically  expressed  his  faith  in  his  people's  future. 
Read  23.  6-15.  By  the  purchase  of  an  ancestral  field  at 
the  hour  it  was  overrun  by  the  enemy  Jeremiah  expresses 
his  confidence  that  the  fields  of  Judah  are  yet  to  be  tilled 
by  the  Jewish  people.  It  is  a  strong  assertion  of  the 
restoration  of  the  people. 


106  THE  RELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

After  the  fall  of  Jerusalem,  Jeremiah  was  liberated  from 
confinement  by  the  Babylonians  and  given  his  choice  of 
going  to  Babylonia  or  remaining  in  Palestine.  He  chose 
the  latter  (39.  14).  Gedaliah,  the  governor,  fixed  his 
capital  at  Mizpah.  After  the  latter's  assassination  the 
mere  remnant  of  a  nation  was  without  a  head.  Counsels 
were  divided.  Some  were  urging  a  retreat  into  Egypt. 
An  appeal  was  made  to  Jeremiah,  who  advised  them  to 
remain  in  Palestine.  This  advice  was  disregarded,  and 
the  leaders,  taking  with  them  many  others,  departed  for 
Egypt.  It  is  not  known  whether  Jeremiah  was  forced  to 
accompany  these  voluntary  exiles  or  whether  he  chose  to 
remain  with  them  to  the  end.  At  any  rate,  he  accom- 
panied them  to  their  new  home  at  Tahpanhes  and  was  loyal 
to  the  prophetic  mission  until  he  died. 

Summary 

A  careful  study  of  all  the  foregoing  discourses  of  Jere- 
miah in  the  light  of  their  historical  setting  makes  clear  the 
great  service  he  rendered  the  world's  religion.  Had  no 
other  voice  been  raised  than  that  of  the  false  prophets, 
the  sacking  of  Jerusalem  would  have  silenced  Hebrew  re- 
ligion. They  proclaimed  the  inviolability  of  the  state :  that 
Jehovah  had  taken  up  his  residence  in  the  Temple  and  that 
he  would  not  suffer  his  people  to  be  dispersed.  The  reality 
of  religion  was  thus  made  dependent  on  the  permanence 
of  the  state.  Jeremiah  exalted  Jehovah  above  any  such 
frail  scheme.  Jehovah  was  the  divine  Potter,  and  the 
marred  nation  might  be  broken  at  the  wheel,  yet  his  pur- 
poses not  be  thwarted  ultimately.  Jeremiah  divorced  re- 
ligion and  the  state.  He  could  see  the  state  perish  yet 
proclaim  that  religion,  in  the  very  destruction  of  the  state, 
was  the  more  truly  realized  and  vindicated. 

Amos  and  Hosea  likewise  looked  for  the  destruction 
of  the  state,  but  they  did  not  look  beyond  the  penalizing 
blow  to  a  reconstruction  of  the  world's  religion.  Isaiah 
too  prophesied  the  ruin  of  Judah,  but  he  was  confident  that 
a  remnant  would  arise  in  the  midst  of  the  overthrow  to 
reorganize  Hebrew  life  on  prophetic  lines.    Jeremiah  was 


PEOPHET  OF  JUDAH^S  DECLINE  107 

the  first  to  accept  definitely  for  the  southern  kingdom  the 
same  fate  that  had  overtaken  Samaria.  But  there  was 
a  clear  program  for  the  future.  The  exiles  were  to  live 
quietly  in  their  foreign  home  and  keep  their  ideals  shin- 
ing, and  in  Jehovah^s  good  time  they  would  be  returned 
to  their  ancestral  cities  and  fields.  Jeremiah  cared  more 
for  religion  than  for  the  state.  He  was  quite  ready  to 
sacrifice  political  independence  to  win  his  people  from  a 
demoralizing  ritual  of  worship  and  anarchic  social  prac- 
tices to  ethical  conduct  and  spiritual  religion.  Jeremiah 
counted. 

Advices  to  Statesmen 

There  are  three  fundamental  principles  upon  which  to 
build  an  enduring  state:  justice,  love,  and  brotherhood. 
All  human  relations  must  be  governed  by  justice.  A 
sense  of  unfairness  and  wrong,  sooner  or  later,  will  dyna- 
mite the  most  solidly  constructed  institution.  But  justice 
must  be  prompted  by  love.  Love  must  be  interpreted  by 
brotherhood.  Slaves  and  masters  have  loved  each  other; 
but  slave  love  and  master  love  will  damn  civilization. 
Brother  love  alone  will  consecrate  the  state.  No  institu- 
tion, no  business,  no  custom,  no  nation,  can  win  perma- 
nence otherwise.  All  institutions  based  on  privilege,  injus- 
tice, or  distrust  will  pass  away.  God  is  King.  His  rule 
will  ultimately  hold  sway. 

Any  nation^s  chief  need  is  prophetic  statesmen:  coun- 
selors whose  first  concern  is  not  prosperity  but  righteous- 
ness. It  seems  incredible  that  a  twentieth-century  nation 
should  debate  unweariedly  armaments,  banking  systems, 
harbor  bills,  commerce,  and  fleets,  and  tolerate  with  so 
much  unconcern  widespread  prostitution,  pernicious  care- 
lessness of  the  public  health,  the  evils  of  degenerate  so- 
ciety so  glaringly  revealed  by  eugenics  and  the  juvenile 
courts,  and  the  want  of  moral  and  religious  education  by  the 
state.  What  permanence  is  assured  the  state  for  which  big 
business  is  a  more  pressing  theme  than  just  business  ?  How 
may  we  help  to  give  just  business  its  proper  place? 

You  may  not  be  in  any  legislative  body;  but  neither  are 


108  THE  EELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

many  of  our  statesmen.  Public  opinion  is  the  great  legis- 
lator everywhere.  If  you  will  you  may  be  a  prophetic 
statesman.  If  you  are  ready  to  endure  misunderstanding, 
scorn,  social  ostracism,  and  poverty  for  the  sake  of  justice 
and  righteousness  you  will  not  live  in  vain.  But  if  you 
prize  comfort  and  ease  above  the  championship  of  Christ's 
kingdom,  God  will  not  intrust  you  with  that  spiritual 
vision  which  is  essential  in  great  leadership. 

Questions  to  Test  Knowledge 

1.  What  assistance  was  given  by  Jeremiah  to  Josiah  in 
carrying  out  his  reforms? 

2.  To  what  extent  did  the  reforms  introduced  by  Josiah 
change  the  religious  and  social  life  of  the  people? 

3.  What  political  changes  took  place  at  the  end  of  the  sev- 
enth century  among  the  nations  surrounding  Palestine? 

4.  How  much  had  the  teaching  of  the  false  prophets  to  do 
with  Josiah's  political  policy  which  ended  in  his  death? 

5.  What  was  Jeremiah's  condemnation  of  these  prophets? 

6.  In  what  manner  had  the  priests  failed  to  exercise  a  wise 
leadership? 

7.  What  doctrine  of  Isaiah's  became  a  source  of  deception 
for  the  nation? 

8.  To  what  extent  did  Jerusalem  suffer  from  the  Babylo- 
nians in  586  B.  C? 

9.  Why  did  the  Babylonians  treat  Jeremiah  with  so  much 
consideration? 

10.  What  future  did  the  prophet  foresee  for  the  Hebrew 
people? 

11.  What  did  Jeremiah  contribute  toward  the  permanence 
of  Hebrew  religion? 

References  for  Additional  Study 

Jeremiah,  in  "The  Expositor's  Bible,"  is  a  pleasing  and 
profitable  exposition  of  this  prophet. 

Old-Testament  History,  Smith,  pages  274-300. 

History,  Prophecy,  and  the  Monuments,  McCurdy,  Volume 
III,  Book  IX,  Chapters  V  and  VI;  Book  X,  Chapters  I-IV. 


CHAPTER  XI 
JEREMIAH :  PROPHET  OF  PERSONAL  RELIGION 

The  preceding  chapter  made  clear  the  peril  in  which 
the  world's  religion  stood  during  the  years  from  the  death 
of  Josiah  to  the  sack  of  Jerusalem  in  586.  The  Deuter- 
onomic  Code,  the  basis  of  Josiah's  reform  in  621,  was 
nominally,  at  least,  the  stay  of  Judah's  life.  The  code 
was  a  continuous  promise  of  national  welfare  in  return  for 
loyalty  to  the  Temple  and  its  worship  and  the  practice  of 
certain  humanitarian  virtues.  Josiah  had  made  an  earnest 
eiTort  to  conform  the  kingdom  to  this  code.  But  Josiah 
was  cut  off  in  battle,  and  priests  and  prophets  had  no  new 
counsel  at  this  strange  turn  of  affairs.  The  people,  neg- 
lecting the  code,  revived  the  worship  and  the  lawlessness 
of  the  days  of  Manasseh.  The  state  was  drifting  steadily 
to  ruin.  Religion  was  purely  a  national  affair,  and 
Judah's  religion,  like  Israel's,  was  doomed  to  disappear 
with  the  exile  of  her  citizens. 

It  was  Jeremiah  who  divorced  religion  from  the  state 
and  made  it  live,  not  in  the  Temple  of  sacrifice  but  in  the 
soul.  He  taught  his  countrymen  that  the  state  might 
perish,  and  still  religion  could  live,  more  vital  for  its  di- 
vorce from  its  ancient  external  supports.  In  this  chap- 
ter is  traced  the  rise  of  spiritual  and  individual  religion 
in  Jeremiah's  life  and  teaching. 

Jeremiah's  Personal  History 

Birthplace,  Family,  and  Character. — Of  Jeremiah,  as 
of  the  other  great  prophets  of  the  Hebrew  people,  there  is 
little  to  be  known  beyond  that  which  appears  in  his  public 
utterances  and  actions.  From  Jeremiah  1.  1  and  29.  27 
it  is  known  that  he  was  bom  at  Anathoth,  a  town  two  or 
three  miles  northeast  of  Jerusalem.     He  came  from   a 

109 


no  THE  RELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

family  of  priests  who  owned  land  at  Anathoth  (32.  9). 
In  this  village  Jeremiah  spent  his  boyhood  and  in  course 
of  time  might  have  exercised  the  functions  of  a  priest. 
Apparently  he  took  up  his  residence  in  Jerusalem  at  the 
time  Josiah  began  to  inaugurate  his  reforms.  Jeremiah 
early  recognized  the  futility  of  reforms  carried  through 
by  state  authority  (2.  3),  and  his  individual  inheritance 
of  character,  responding  to  the  political  and  religious  con- 
ditions of  the  day,  soon  unfitted  him  for  the  priestly  of- 
fice. He  was  passionately  interested  in  the  welfare  of 
Judah.  His  reflections  upon  the  conditions  of  the  state 
deepened  within  him  the  necessity  of  absolute  dependence 
on  Jehovah.  His  beliefs  consequently  brought  him  into 
constant  conflict  with  the  leaders  of  the  state.  Yet 
he  pursued  his  course  unflinchingly.  His  own  townsmen 
plotted  against  his  life.  He  had  no  family  of  wife  and 
children  to  enter  sympathetically  into  his  life.  His 
career  became  one  long,  lonely  martyrdom. 

Jeremiah's  Call  to  the  Prophetic  Office. — Examine  1. 
4-19.  The  beginning  of  Jeremiah's  prophetic  ministry 
was  about  626  B.  C.  Note  the  deep  conviction  that  his 
mission  is  a  divine  appointment.  Observe  too  the  breadth 
of  his  parish.  These  two  ideas — namely,  that  he  is  the 
child  of  destiny  and  that  he  is  Jehovah's  mouthpiece  for 
the  nations — are  fundamental  to  the  understanding  of 
Jeremiah's  career.  Is  his  conviction  that  Jehovah  had 
planned  his  life  even  before  his  birth  a  key  to  his  un- 
swerving loyalty  to  his  mission?  Why  was  Jeremiah  re- 
luctant to  enter  upon  the  prophetic  career?  Did  such 
office  involve  personal  danger?  Judging  from  the 
prophets  already  studied,  to  what  sort  of  career  was  he 
summoned?  With  what  assurance  did  Jehovah  overcome 
his  reluctance  ?  What  did  it  mean  to  Jeremiah  to  say  that 
Jehovah's  hand  had  touched  his  mouth,  and  Jehovah's 
words  were  in  his  mouth?  What  did  his  prophetic  com- 
mission involve?  From  1.  17-19  may  it  be  inferred  that 
Jeremiah  naturally  shrank  from  adverse  criticism  and 
that,  knowing  his  message  would  arouse  bitter  adversaries, 
he  trembled  to  follow  the  promptings  of  his  soul?     In 


PROPHET  OF  PERSONAL  RELIGION       111 

what  way  was  he  fortified  for  his  work  by  believing  him- 
self the  sent  of  Jehovah? 

The  Training  of  a  Prophet.— Read  15.  10-21.  Jere- 
miah's struggles  did  not  cease  with  his  call.  This  experi- 
ence takes  place  after  several  years  of  ministry.  The 
prophet  had  been  received  with  bitter  hostility.  By  his 
rebuke  of  the  people^s  vain  trust  in  the  Temple  he  had 
aroused  the  opposition  of  priests  and  prophets.  He  had 
assailed  the  luxury-loving  Jehoiakim  and  incurred  the 
royal  wrath.  He  had  preached  repentance,  but  the  nation 
rushed  on  to  its  doom.  His  pure  passion  for  the  welfare 
of  his  people  only  alienated  him  from  them  all.  Is  it 
strange  that  he  should  bewail  the  ills  of  his  life  ?  Note  the 
words  he  uses  to  describe  his  isolation:  *^a  man  of  conten- 
tion to  the  whole  earth  V^  How  is  he  treated  by  men  ? 
(15.  10).  What  is  his  prayer  in  15.  15-18?  What  ending 
of  his  struggles  does  he  crave?  What  is  the  answer  to 
this  prayer?  (verse  20).  What  sacrifices  has  Jeremiah 
made  in  loyalty  to  his  call?  (verse  18).  In  what  way  has 
he  found  Jehovah  "a  deceitful  brook'^  ?  What  has  been  the 
effect  of  his  complaints  upon  his  prophetic  office?  (verse 
19).  What  condition  is  imposed  upon  Jeremiah  that  he 
may  continue  his  ministry?  Observe  that  there  is  no 
praise  for  past  loyalty;  the  reward  of  service  is  more 
service. 

Jeremiah,  loyal  to  his  call,  continued  to  preach  that  it 
was  Jehovah's  purpose  to  deliver  his  people  into  the  hands 
of  the  Babylonians.  Finally  he  was  arrested  by  Pashhur, 
chief  officer  of  the  Temple  (20.  1),  and  put  into  the  stocks, 
where  he  passed  the  night.  It  is  not  improbable  that  Jere- 
miah's complaint  found  in  20.  7-18  followed  this  indig- 
nity. Remember  that  Jeremiah  came  from  a  conspicuous 
family,  that  he  was  a  man  of  genius,  that  his  prophetic 
office  entitled  him  to  confidence  and  respect,  that  he  was 
conscious  of  seeing  clearly  truths  hidden  from  his  con- 
temporaries, and  you  will  feel  the  hurt  that  Jeremiah  felt 
at  the  indignities  heaped  upon  him  by  Pashhur.  Read  20. 
14-18.  Note  the  utter  sense  of  failure  and  misery  which 
these  words  convey.     Upon  what  and  whom  is  the  curse 


112  THE  RELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

invoked?  In  the  light  of  his  misery  and  his  failure  to 
move  Judah  to  repentance  what  is  Jeremiah's  meaning 
when  he  exclaims  (20.  7)  : 

"Thou  hast  persuaded  me,  and  I  was  persuaded; 
Thou  art  stronger  than  I,  and  hast  prevailed"? 

Does  he  mean  that  Jehovah,  taking  advantage  of  his 
ignorance  and  weakness,  has  imposed  the  prophetic  life 
upon  him  and  so  led  him  into  wretchedness  and  fail- 
ure ?  Observe  that  Jeremiah  feels  an  irresistible  compulsion 
driving  him  forward  in  his  career,  and  that  the  words  he 
utters  are  not  his  own.  In  verse  8  what  is  Jeremiah's  sum- 
mary of  his  sermons?  What  estimate  of  himself  has  such 
preaching  formed  in  the  multitude?  Verse  9  may  be 
rendered  thus: 

"If  I  say  I  will  not  thinh  upon  his  word 
Nor  speak  any  more  in  his  name. 
Then  my  heart  burns  with  a  consuming  fire, 
And  I  weary  with  restraining  his  commands.'* 

However  painful  the  prophetic  office  becomes,  Jeremiah 
cannot  turn  aside  from  his  lifework.  Chosen  before  birth, 
divinely  appointed  to  preach  a  spiritual  religion  to  a  ma- 
terialistically minded  people,  seeing  no  end  of  Judah's 
blindness  but  the  destruction  of  the  state,  his  very  words 
put  into  his  mouth,  his  rejection  of  his  commission  frus- 
trated by  a  torturing  fire  in  his  heart  making  silence  im- 
possible, Jeremiah  is  driven  through  the  loneliest  struggle 
by  the  consciousness  of  the  impelling  will  of  Jehovah. 
This  is  Jeremiah's  Gethsemane.  But  this  conviction  that 
he  is  the  sent  of  Jehovah  upholds  him  and  gives  him  his 
sense  of  security  in  the  face  of  utmost  danger  from  his 
fellow  men.    Read  20.  11,  12.    See  also  26.  8-15. 

The  Isolation  of  His  Life. — Bearing  in  mind  Jere- 
miah's conception  of  worship,  his  demands  for  ethical 
relations  among  men,  and  his  continued  predictions  that 
Judah  must  succumb  to  the  Babylonians,  one  clearly  sees 
that  Jeremiah  was  isolated  from  his  world.  Read  11. 
18-22;  15.  10,  17,  18;  16.  1-3,  5-9;  18.  18-20;  20.  10;  22. 


PROPHET  OF  PERSONAL  RELIGION       113 

13-19;  26.  8,  9,  and  state  individuals  and  the  modes  of 
life  with  which  Jeremiah  had  no  fellowship.  What  was 
the  cause  of  such  isolation?  Judging  from  the  references 
already  studied,  what  was  the  general  effect  of  this  lone- 
liness and  isolation  upon  Jeremiah's  life?  What  did  his 
personal  history  contribute  to  the  development  of  religion  ? 

Jeremiah's  Conception  of  Religion 

His  Attitude  to  Ritual  and  Animal  Sacrifice. — Read 
Jeremiah  11.  1-8.  Here  Jeremiah  appears  an  ardent 
preacher  of  the  Deuteronomic  Code.  There  was  much  in 
it  with  which  Jeremiah  would  sympathize,  but  there  was 
much,  too,  which  he  condemned.  It  is  not  improbable  that 
at  first  he  welcomed  the  code  as  an  approximation  toward 
spiritual  religion,  but  when  he  saw  that  its  more  spiritual 
provisions  were  ignored  he  became  aware  of  the  futility  of 
all  legislation  to  reform  the  individual  and  society's  insti- 
tutions. Read  8.  4-9.  If  this  section  refers  to  the  Deuter- 
onomic Code,  Jeremiah  believes  that  the  code's  emphasis 
upon  ritual  falsely  represents  the  true  demands  of  Jeho- 
vah. Jeremiah's  position  is  made  clearer  in  7.  21-23. 
Looking  at  the  Temple  ritual  of  his  day,  and  reflecting 
upon  the  whole  history  of  sacrifice,  and  measuring  the 
religious  life  of  which  the  ritual  of  sacrifice  was  an  ex- 
pression by  the  religion  he  had  come  to  know  in  his  own 
life,  Jeremiah  felt  sure  that  sacrifice  could  have  been  no 
part  of  the  original  covenant  at  Sinai.  In  this  view  we 
know  that  he  is  largely  correct.  We  have  seen  how  large 
a  part  of  Israel's  forms  of  worship,  even  those  approved 
by  the  Deuteronomic  Code  and  the  Book  of  the  Covenant, 
is  a  Canaanitish  borrowing.  But  occasional  animal  sacri- 
fices are  offered  by  nomadic  peoples,  and  it  is  quite  prob- 
able that  animal  sacrifice  was  performed  at  times  of 
crisis  and  to  seal  the  covenant  at  Sinai.  See  Exodus  18. 
12;  24.  5-8.  But  Jeremiah's  position  that  Jehovah  does 
not  care  or  no  longer  cares  for  the  sacrificial  system,  that 
he  now  demands  a  more  spiritual  worship,  is  indeed  a 
triumph  of  true  religion. 

Examine  2.  8 ;  9.  3-6  and  observe  that  Jeremiah  declares 


114  THE  EELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

that  Judah  does  not  know  Jehovah.  What  does  Jere- 
miah mean  by  knowing  Jehovah?  See  22.  15,  16.  Ob- 
serve too  that  Judah's  ills  will  never  cease  until  the  people 
have  a  heart  to  know  Jehovah  (24.  7). 

The  New  Covenant. — So  Jeremiah  turns  from  the  wor- 
ship of  his  times,  which  makes  no  great  demands  upon 
the  ethical  life,  to  insist  upon  that  true  vision  of  Jehovah 
which  will  transform  religion  from  external  forms  into  a 
comradeship  with  Jehovah  expressed  in  love  and  ethical 
conduct.  He  demands  in  Jehovah's  name  not  an  out- 
ward sign  of  an  ancient  covenant  (4.  4)  but  an  inner 
cleansing  of  life.  Purity  and  integrity  of  life  are  the  true 
signs  that  men  have  entered  into  covenant  with  God.  The 
sacrificial  system  (7.  21-23)  obscures  the  character  of  God 
and  is  no  expression  of  his  demands.  Study  29.  11-17. 
Observe  the  requirements  Jehovah  asks  from  the  exiles. 
What  conception  of  religion  is  here  involved?  Read  3. 
16  and  state  Jeremiah's  attitude  toward  the  ark  of  the 
covenant.  Read  again  7.  3-15  and  observe  that  the  Temple 
is  no  security  of  the  nation's  life;  but,  on  the  contrary,  it 
is  to  be  swept  away  with  the  whole  conception  of  worship 
which  it  represents. 

Jeremiah's  insistence  that  religion  is  an  ethical  com- 
merce of  man  and  God  climaxes  in  his  "new  covenant." 
Examine  attentively  31.  31-34.  What  was  the  first  cove- 
nant? When  was  it  made?  Who  were  the  contracting 
parties?  What  did  the  first  covenant  demand  from  the 
people?  What  did  it  promise  on  the  part  of  Jehovah? 
See  7.  22,  23.  What  had  been  the  history  of  this  covenant  ? 
May  it  be  inferred  from  31.  33,  34  that  in  the  thought  of 
Jeremiah  the  characteristic  marks  of  the  old  covenant  were 

(1)  that  its  terms  were  formulated  in  definite  laws,  and 

(2)  that  these  laws  were  interpreted  and  enforced  by  re- 
ligious teachers  and  authorities?  Would  Jeremiah  have 
said  that  there  were  two  fundamental  defects  in  the  old 
bond  between  Jehovah  and  his  people — namely:  (1)  that 
its  chief  demand  was  conformity  to  certain  definite  com- 
mands, partly  ethical  and  largely  ritual,  and,  therefore, 
did  not  touch  heartily  the  springs  of  life  and  conduct? 


PEOPHET  OF  PERSONAL  RELIGION       115 

(2)  and  that,  being  national  and  not  individual,  the  in- 
dividual's life  was  not  motived  sufficiently?  While  Jere- 
miah does  not  definitely  refer  to  the  Book  of  the  Covenant 
and  to  the  Deuteronomic  Code  he  undoubtedly  regarded 
these  as  expansions  of  the  Sinaitic  covenant  and  felt  that 
the  same  weakness  attached  to  them.  Does  Jeremiah  now 
regard  this  old  covenant  abrogated? 

Does  Jeremiah  regard  all  past  achievements  of  religion 
abrogated  or  does  he  mean  that  the  formal  covenant  idea 
cannot  secure  a  spiritual  and  ethical  life?  The 
Deuteronomic  Code  aimed  at  transforming  Judah's 
religion  into  a  spiritual  fellowship  with  Jehovah 
and  into  ethical  relations  with  men.  Jeremiah's 
contention  is  that  no  legislation,  no  stress  of  formal  wor- 
ship, can  secure  these  ends;  that  religion  is  essentially  a 
commerce  between  man  and  God ;  and  that  such  fellowship 
cannot  be  codified.  Commit  to  memory  these  beautiful 
lines,  which  sum  up  Jeremiah's  conception  of  religion  as 
fellowship  between  man  and  deity  unmediated  by  priest 
and  sacrifice: 

""/  will  put  my  teaching  in  their  breast,  and  I  will  write  it 
on  their  hearts. 
I  will  he  their  God,  and  they  shall  he  my  people. 
They  will  teach  no  more  every  man  his  neighhor. 
And  every  man  his  hrother,  saying,  Know  Jehovah; 
For  they  shall  all  know  me,  from  the  least  of  them  to  the 

greatest: 
For  I  will  forgive  their  iniquities,  and  their  sins  will  I 
rememher  no  more/'  (Jeremiah  31.  S3,  SJf.) 

The  Individual  Aspect  of  Religion. — This  very  concep- 
tion of  spiritual  religion  individualized  it.  The  student 
will  recall  that  worship  in  the  past  was  an  affair  of  sacri- 
fice, in  which  the  family  participated  (1  Samuel  1.  1-8; 
20.  28,  29).  As  long  as  worship  was  wholly  expressed 
in  ritual,  the  individual  could  scarcely  think  of  Jehovah's 
having  dealings  with  him  apart  from  his  clan.  Sin  and 
guilt  also  had  their  meaning  in  this  solidarity  of  life.  If 
the  student  will  read  the  account  of  Achan's  transgression 


116  THE  RELIGTOX  OF  JUDAH 

(Joshua  7.  16-26)  or  the  slaughter  of  the  priests  at 
Nob  (1  Samuel  22.  16-19)  he  will  see  how  (ieeply  rooted 
was  the  clan  conception  of  guilt  and  sin.  Beginnings  had 
been  made  in  the  administration  of  justice  (2  Kings  14. 
5,  6;  Deuteronomy  24.  16),  in  the  change  to  individ- 
ualistic responsibility,  but  it  remained  to  Jeremiah  to 
establish  that  the  loftiest  conception  of  religion  demands 
an  individualizing  of  mankind's  relation  to  God.  No 
doubt  at  times  this  principle  has  been  stressed  to  the  neg- 
lect of  the  social  aspects  of  religion;  but  fundamentally 
religion  at  last  roots  in  the  individual  soul.  Eead  31.  29 
and  state  the  words  Jeremiah  here  uses  to  individualize 
guilt.  Examine  his  prayers  in  15.  15-18;  17.  14-18  and 
observe  that  in  Jeremiah's  life  the  meaning  of  religion  has 
passed  from  nationalism  to  individualism.  Eead  the  psalm 
found  in  17.  5-8.  Here  too  it  is  the  individual,  and  not 
the  community,  with  whom  religion  is  concerned. 

Jeremiah  and   Ourselves 

It  would  be  difficult  to  overestimate  Jeremiah's  services 
to  religion.  The  immediate  effect  of  his  labors  was  small 
indeed.  He  was  the  loneliest  of  men.  His  conceptions  of 
religion  isolated  him  from  his  people;  his  patriotism, 
which  exalted  righteousness  above  national  existence,  made 
him  obnoxious  to  the  rulers.  His  life  was  one  long  mar- 
tyrdom. Yet  after  Judah  succumbed  to  the  Babylonian, 
the  exiles  remembered  his  teaching  and  his  life  and  they 
passed  from  despair  to  hope.  He  had  shown  that  religion 
could  live  without  the  support  of  the  state,  had  shown 
that  it  must  live  in  the  individual  soul.  He  became  for 
them  the  star  of  dawn.  Jeremiah,  too,  set  the  pattern  of 
future  piety.  He  made  possible  the  Psalms,  which  have 
comforted  the  world.  Of  all  Old-Testament  teachers  he 
most  makes  us  think  of  Christ. 

Think  how  frequently  a  great  soul  is  a  lonely  soul.  Pass 
them  before  you:  Amos,  Hosea,  Isaiah,  and  Jeremiah; 
how  many  of  their  contemporaries  were  their  intimate 
associates?  How  few  there  are  who  have  understood 
Jesus!     Not  one  of  his  disciples  fully  entered  into  his 


PROPHET  OF  PERSONAL  RELIGION       117 

ideals.  Paul  did  not  clearly  comprehend  him.  Few  of 
us  to-day  are  brave  enough  to  live  with  him.  We  hedge 
at  his  commands;  we  say  his  ideals  are  impracticable; 
we  let  him  live  alone.  Do  not  expect  many  great  friend- 
ships. To  possess  a  multitude  of  intimate  friends  in  this 
day  means  that  you  are  not  living  a  profoundly  spiritual 
and  intellectually  endowed  life.  Even  if  it  narrows  your 
intimacies,  covet  a  great  life. 

Jeremiah  abated  no  jot  of  his  idealism  to  conform  to 
the  demands  of  a  practical  state.  Civilization  is  never 
permanently  enriched  by  your  "practical'^  men.  Such 
men  live  for  manufacture  and  trade.  They  suppose  that 
banks,  railways,  and  mines  are  the  chief  factors  of  civil- 
ization. It  is  its  idealism,  not  its  business,  which  pre- 
serves a  state.  "Seek  first  the  kingdom''  is  the  com- 
manding advice  of  life's  Master. 

It  is  a  mere  incident  in  our  memory  of  Jeremiah  that  he 
owned  a  farm  at  Anathoth;  the  main  thing  is  his  piety. 
In  the  midst  of  a  toppling  state  he  was  not  overthrown 
with  the  ruined  capital.  His  life  was  not  identified  with 
the  Temple,  palace,  market,  or  defended  walls.  When 
these  fell,  there  was  nothing  in  him  which  they  could  drag 
down.  He  had  learned  to  know  Jehovah;  he  feared  no 
destruction ;  he  felt  himself  secure  in  the  face  of  the  crud- 
est disaster.  Oh,  that  we  might  learn  to  find  our  wealth, 
our  fame,  our  success,  in  our  fellowship  with  God !  There 
could  be  then  no  ruined  hopes,  no  blasted  lives,  no  starless 
despair. 

In  religion,  as  in  every  other  department  of  human  life, 
the  greatest  achievement  is  won  through  association.  Jesus 
alone  could  not  establish  his  kingdom.  The  most  devoted 
and  heroic  Christian  does  not  constitute  a  church.  But 
the  life  that  is  lived  together  is  lived  primarily  by  in- 
dividuals. The  morality  of  a  family  is  the  morality  of 
individuals  living  in  the  family.  The  religion  of  a  church 
or  a  community  is  the  religion  of  the  individuals  in  the 
social  group.  Religion,  in  the  last  analysis,  is  the  life  of 
an  individual.  The  more  true,  moral,  and  intense  this 
life  is,  the  more  vigorous  and  effective  is  the  religion  of 


118  THE  EELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

the  community.  Eeligion  is  individual  before  it  is  social. 
Until  individuals  are  redeemed,  society  is  not  secure. 
Social  movements  are  individuals  with  similar  interests 
and  passions  acting  together.  The  phenomena  of  social 
action  never  must  obscure  the  fact  that  in  its  final  analysis 
life  is  lived  by  individuals. 

Themes  for  Class  Discussion 

1.  The  ease  with  which  idolatrous  worship  reappeared  in 
Judah  after  the  death  of  Josiah  indicates  that  the  abolition  of 
the  local  sanctuaries  was  not  a  popular  reform.  State  what 
this  change  must  have  meant  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  rural 
towns  and  villages.^ 

2.  Jeremiah  does  not  tell  us  why  he  did  not  become  a  priest. 
State  the  reasons  that  may  have  led  him  to  break  with  the 
traditional  employment  of  his  fathers. 

3.  What  considerations  should  determine  any  man  in  the 
choice  of  his  lifework? 

4.  What  are  the  defects  and  disadvantages  of  a  state  re- 
ligion? 

5.  What  were  the  essential  features  of  the  covenant  between 
the  Hebrews  and  Jehovah?^ 

6.  What  were  the  basic  ideas  in  Jeremiah's  new  covenant? 

7.  To  what  extent  is  religion  individual?  social? 

8.  Why  ar3  great  men  apt  to  be  lonely? 

Selected  Readings 

The  Religion  of  Israel,  Smith,  Chapter  IX. 

The  Prophets  of  Israel,  Cornhill,  the  chapter  devoted  to 
Jeremiah. 

Hebrew  Religion,  Addis,  pages  194-206. 

Article  "Jeremiah,"  Sections  I  and  VI,  Dictionary  of  the 
Bible,  Hastings. 


Folklore  in  the  Old  Testament,  Frazier,  Volume  III,  pages  105-7. 
^The  Religion  of  Israel^  Ascham,  Chapter  VIII. 


CHAPTER  XII 

EZEKIEL:   WATCHMAN  UNTO   THE   HOUSE   OF 
ISRAEL 

EzEKiEL  was  one  of  the  leading  citizens  of  Jerusalem 
carried  captive  with  King  Jehoiachin  to  Babylon  in  597 
B.  C.  These  captives  were  settled  at  Tel-abib  by  the 
Kabaru  Canal  (Ezekiel  3.  15).  Ezekiel  was  a  priest  of 
the  family  of  Zadok.  After  five  years  in  Babylon  he  felt 
called  to  the  prophetic  ministry.  From  this  time  until 
the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  in  586  B.  C.  he  followed  the 
usual  course  of  the  prophets  in  denouncing  the  sins  of  his 
people.  Their  sinfulness,  he  believed,  was  leading  the 
nation  to  destruction.  He  became  the  interpreter  of  pass- 
ing events  to  his  fellow  exiles.  These  Hebrews,  who  had 
suffered  deportation  in  597,  kept  in  closest  possible  touch 
with  Jerusalem  and  watched  the  course  pursued  by  the 
leaders  in  Judah  with  deepest  concern.  It  was  EzekiePs 
mission,  like  Jeremiah's,  to  proclaim  that  city  and  state 
would  be  destroyed.  He  seems  to  have  been  a  leader  among 
the  exiles,  was  often  consulted,  and  must  have  performed 
an  important  service  in  adjusting  the  exiles  to  their  afflic- 
tions and  the  approaching  destruction  of  Jerusalem. 

After  the  city  fell,  in  586,  Ezekiel  ceased  to  denounce 
the  sins  of  his  people  and  became  a  preacher  of  hope.  He 
united  in  himself  the  functions  of  both  priest  and  prophet, 
but  in  his  earlier  sermons  the  prophetic  outlook  dominated. 
All  the  prophecies  examined  in  this  chapter  were  uttered 
between  592  and  586  B.  C. 

Ezekiel's  Call  to  the  Prophetic  Office 

Read  Ezekiel,  chapter  1.  Observe  that  Ezekiel,  as  Jere- 
miah and  Isaiah,  is  summoned  by  a  vision  that  impresses 
him  with  the  glory  and  majesty  of  Jehovah.  It  may  not 
be  possible  to  form  a  mental  picture  of  these  living  crea- 

119 


120  THE  EELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

tures,  wheels,  the  throne,  and  its  occupant';  but  the  reader 
will  mark  certain  of  EzekieFs  dominant  ideas:  Jehovah 
is  no  longer  enthroned  in  Jerusalem;  he  dwells  upon  a 
celestial  throne,  which  brings  him  near  the  exiles.  Note 
the  effect  of  this  vision  upon  Ezekiel.  Eead  closely  2. 
1-7.  Who  is  the  speaker  in  2.  1?  Observe  how  com- 
pletely Ezekiel  is  directed  and  upheld  by  Jehovah.  What 
is  to  be  understood  by  the  title  "Son  of  man"?  What  is 
the  characteristic  feature  of  Israel's  history?  (Here- 
after "Israel"  will  be  used  of  the  Hebrew  people  without 
reference  to  the  divided  kingdoms.)  Observe  that  the 
essence  of  the  prophetic  career  is  in  the  words  "thus  saith 
Jehovah."  Ezekiel  is  authorized  and  enjoined  to  speak 
with  such  authority.  Is  this  conviction  of  being  sent 
of  Jehovah  characteristic  of  all  the  prophets  whom  we 
have  studied  ?  In  what  way  are  the  dangers  of  his  mission 
symbolized?  Observe  this:  his  commission  binds  him  to 
utterance,  whether  or  not  the  people  give  heed  to  his  mes- 
sage. 

Study  2.  8  to  3.  3.  In  what  way  is  Ezekiel  prepared 
for  this  ministry?  What  were  the  contents  of  this  book? 
How  does  this  conception  of  the  prophet's  message  com- 
pare with  the  sermons  delivered  by  earlier  prophets  ?  Why 
was  the  roll  sweet  to  Ezekiel?  Eead  3.  4-11.  In  what 
words  does  Ezekiel  estimate  the  difficulty  of  his  mission? 
the  probable  results?  What  is  his  conception  of  the  char- 
acter of  the  Hebrew  state  ?  Unto  whom  was  he  to  deliver 
Jehovah's  messages?  Study  3.  12-27.  Although  it  is  not 
stated,  we  may  suppose  that  Ezekiel  in  his  vision  places 
himself  in  Jerusalem  at  the  time  of  his  call;  then,  at  the 
acceptance  of  the  call,  "the  glory  of  Jehovah  [rose]  from 
his  place"  (verse  12)  and  brought  him  among  the 
captives  at  Tel-abib.  It  is  not  unlikely  that  Ezekiel  in- 
tends here  to  proclaim  that  Jehovah  has  departed  from 
Jerusalem.  What  is  the  chief  duty  of  a  watchman  to  the 
house  of  Israel?  Note  the  overwhelming  sense  of  the 
prophet's  responsibility.  Observe  that  the  nation  is  here 
broken  up  into  its  individual  constituents :  The  righteous 
are  righteous  individuals,  and  the  wicked  no  longer  is  ^ 


EZEKIEL:  WATCHMAN  UNTO  ISRAEL     121 

guilty  nation,  but  are  wicked  citizens  and  exiles.  Note 
that  the  wicked  are  to  have  warning  before  punishment 
falls  upon  them.  Ezekiel  feels  himself  solemnly  set  apart 
to  the  awful  responsibility  of  this  task  of  warning.  Ob- 
serve q|specially  3.  20.  What  is  the  source  of  tempta- 
tion? What  remembrance  of  the  righteous  man's  life  is 
possible  at  this  stage  of  Hebrew  religion?  Note  (3.  23) 
EzekiePs  profound  sense  of  the  majesty  of  Jehovah.  What 
do  the  words  "the  glory  of  Jehovah  stood  there"  mean? 
Observe  that  at  the  very  threshold  of  his  ministry  Ezekiel 
is  restrained  from  an  extensive  public  ministry.  What 
reason  is  given  for  confining  his  mission  to  those  who  may 
visit  him  at  his  home? 

The  Sins  and  Approaching  Disasters  of  Judah 

Jehovah's  Rejection  of  Jerusalem. — Read  Ezekiel  4.  1 
to  5.  17.  In  what  ways  did  Ezekiel  proclaim  to  the  first 
exiles  that  they  must  not  expect  the  continuance  of  the 
Judaean  state?  Undoubtedly  these  first  exiles,  despite 
Jeremiah's  warning  (chapter  29),  looked  for  a  speedy 
return  to  Jerusalem.  Ezekiel  seeks  to  prepare  them  for 
the  certain  fate  that  hangs  over  the  city.  These  acted 
sermons  must  have  deeply  impressed  his  auditors.  What 
accusation  is  brought  against  Jerusalem?  (5.  6,  7,  11). 
Has  Ezekiel's  residence  in  Babylonia  revealed  to  him  a 
higher  morality  than  was  to  be  found  in  Jerusalem? 
What  is  the  judgment  upon  the  guilty  city?  Note  espe- 
cially the  predicted  horrors  of  the  siege  (5.  10).  See 
also  Jeremiah  19.  9;  Deuteronomy  28.  53;  2  Kings  6.  28. 
What  shall  become  of  the  city's  inhabitants? 

The  judgment  upon  Jerusalem  is  further  described  in 
8.  1  to  11.  12.  What  indication  is  given  here  of  Ezekiel's 
position  among  the  exiles?  Read  closely  these  accounts 
of  the  heathen  cults  practiced  in  Jerusalem.  After  all 
the  preaching  of  the  prophets  the  nation,  heedless  of  every 
attempt  at  spiritualizing  its  religion,  is  plunging  on  to 
its  doom.  What  are  these  heathen  practices?  (1)  The 
image  of  jealousy  (8.  3) — that  is,  the  image,  or  an 
asherah,   of   another   deity,   which  provokes   Jehovah   to 


122  THE  EELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

jealousy.  Observe  attentively  the  question  in  8.  6.  Je- 
hovah proposes  to  abandon  his  sanctuary  at  Jerusalem. 
This  is  extremely  significant.  It  is  EzekieFs  way  of  ac- 
counting for  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem.  Jehovah  him- 
self has  decreed  its  destruction.  (2)  A  mystery  cult 
consisting  of  the  worship  of  animals.  What  representa- 
tions were  on  the  walls?  Of  what  did  the  worship  con- 
sist? What  hint  is  there  of  its  popularity?  Had  Israel 
worshiped  animal  forms  previously?  (3)  The  Tam- 
muz  worship.  Tammuz  was  a  Babylonian  deity,  whose 
descent  into  the  lower  world  and  resurrection  were  cele- 
brated far  and  wide  in  the  ancient  world.  It  was  at 
the  summer  solstice  that  Tammuz  died  and  at  the  turn 
of  the  winter  that  he  rose  again.  His  festival  was  cele- 
brated at  the  summer  solstice  by  litanies  of  mourning. 
At  this  season  the  "death  of  vegetation  and  the  cessation 
of  generation  is  mourned."^  (4)  The  sun  worship.  What 
details  are  given?  Why  does  Ezekiel  consider  this  a 
greater  abomination  than  the  preceding  rites  ? 

Note  attentively  the  impressive  fate  of  Jerusalem.  Je- 
hovah is  furious  at  these  abominations  and  will  have  no 
pity  (8.  18).  Those  who  defile  the  city  are  slain  with 
the  sword.  Beginning  at  the  Temple,  there  is  no  one  with 
the  mark  of  a  mourner  over  the  nation's  sins  (9.  4),  and 
Ezekiel  is  left  alone  in  the  midst  of  the  Temple  strewn 
with  the  dead.  From  the  burning  city  Jehovah  rises 
in  glory  and  departs  finally  from  his  ancient  sanctuary. 

The  Cause  of  the  Nation's  Blindness. — It  would  seem 
that  such  preaching  would  have  taken  away  every  hope 
among  the  exiles  that  Jerusalem  would  be  spared.  But 
there  were  doubters  enough,  and  Ezekiel  was  compelled 
to  preach  on  until  the  city  fell.  Eead  12.  1-20.  What 
symbolically  acted  sermon  is  here  recorded?  What  ex- 
pression of  the  popular  disbelief  in  EzekieFs  prediction 
is  given  in  12.  22?  What  did  Ezekiel  conceive  to  be  the 
source  of  this  popular  skepticism?  Note  that  the  "false 
prophets"   use   the   customary   prophetic   formula   "Thus 

» See  The  Old  Testament  in  the  Light  of  the  Ancient  East,  Jeremias,  Volume  1, 
96/.,  125/. 


EZEKIEL:  WATCHMAN  UNTO  ISRAEL     123 

saith  Jehovah/^  What  chance  had  the  people  of  discern- 
ing the  true  future  under  such  equally  emphatic  divided 
counsels?  Consider  the  genius  and  the  faith  which  sepa- 
rated Jeremiah  and  Ezekiel  from  this  crowd  of  mistaken 
prophets.  Examine  Habakkuk,  chapters  1  and  2.  Here 
are  expressed  prophetic  views  of  the  relation  of  Jehovah 
to  his  people,  which  were  denounced  by  Jeremiah  and 
Ezekiel. 

Ezekiel's  Historical  Perspective. — In  considering  Is- 
rael's sins  Ezekiel  takes  a  position  more  condemnatory 
than  any  of  his  predecessors.  Amos,  Hosea,  Isaiah,  and 
Jeremiah  regarded  Israel's  sins  as  a  defection  from  Je- 
hovah. In  the  earliest  period  there  had  been  loyalty  to 
him;  but  after  entrance  into  Palestine  the  earlier  wor- 
ship was  corrupted  by  Canaanitish  practices.  Ezekiel  re- 
gards their  unfaithfulness  as  characteristic  of  Hebrew 
life  from  the  beginning.  The  whole  history  of  Israel  is 
a  story  of  a  rebellious  people.  Read  chapter  16  for  Eze- 
kiel's reading  of  Israel's  life.  Note  (16.  3)  that  in  Eze- 
kiel's opinion  the  nation  was  born  from  Canaanitish  hea- 
thenism. He  neglects  or  rejects  all  patriarchal  narratives. 
We  have  seen  that  while  the  worship  of  the  days  of  the 
judges  and  of  the  monarchy  was  a  mingled  worship  of 
nomadic  practices  and  the  beliefs  and  customs  of  the 
Canaanitish  agricultural  communities,  the  people  of  these 
earlier  times  were  not  aware  of  any  settled  disloyalty  to 
Jehovah.^  The  view  of  Hebrew  history  here  presented  is 
not  a  correct  reading  of  Israel's  past;  the  more  spiritual 
views  of  a  later  age  are  supposed  to  have  existed  in  the 
earlier  period,  and  any  departure  from  this  loftier  con- 
ception of  religion  is  credited  to  the  earlier  times  as 
apostasy.  Examine  also  chapter  20.  Note  the  disloyalty 
with  which  Israel  is  charged.  Have  we  had  any  hint  that 
the  charge  of  20,  7,  8  is  true?  To  what  extent  did  Egyp- 
tian beliefs  and  practices  influence  the  religion  of  Israel? 
Was  the  conception  of  the  Sabbath  as  clearly  defined  in 
the  wilderness  period  as  Ezekiel  implies?     Observe  that 


1  The  Religion  of  Israel,  Ascham,  Chapter  XII. 


124  THE  RELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

in  earlier  references  to  the  Sabbath  it  is  no  more  sacred 
than  the  day  of  the  new  moon  (Amos  8.  5;  Hosea  2.  11; 
Isaiah  1.  13).  Both  seemed  to  have  been  kept  by  cessation 
from  labor  and  by  feasting  at  the  sanctuaries,  which  fre- 
quently eventuated  in  licentiousness.  The  strict  theistic 
philosophy  of  Ezekiel  is  noteworthy.  Examine  20.  25, 
26  and  state  EzekiePs  position  concerning  past  legislation, 
which  Israelites  had  accepted  as  divinely  ordered.  Eead 
22.  1-13,  25-29.  Of  what  sins  does  Ezekiel  accuse  Jeru- 
salem? What  additional  faults  are  catalogued  in  18. 
1-20? 

Ezekiel's  Outlook  for  the  Futuee 

Read  carefully  11.  13-25.  Note  that  the  inhabitants  of 
Jerusalem  think  that  the  exiles  carried  to  Babylon  in 
597,  together  with  the  exiles  of  the  northern  kingdom 
taken  captive  in  722,  are  far  from  Jehovah.  What  is  Eze- 
kiePs thought  of  this?  (verse  16).  What  does  he  mean 
by  saying  Jehovah  is  a  sanctuary  for  the  exiles?  What 
is  Jehovah's  plan  for  these  exiles  ?  What  changes  of  wor- 
ship will  occur?  In  what  way  are  the  loyalty  and  per- 
manence of  the  future  state  secured?  Eead  17.  22-24. 
Observe  that  Ezekiel  here  expects  the  Hebrew  monarchy 
to  be  restored  in  Palestine,  and  that  a  prince  of  the  house 
of  David  is  to  be  king.  Eead  20.  39-44.  You  will  note 
that  Ezekiel  here  contemplates  a  return  of  the  exiles  to 
Palestine.  What  suggestion  of  the  new  order  of  life  is 
given?  Observe  that  the  essence  of  the  new  state  is  that 
the  people  will  know  Jehovah.  Eead  Ezekiel's  outburst 
against  Zedekiah  in  21.  24-27  and  observe  the  expres- 
sion concerning  Zedekiah's  lost  crown:  "until  he  come 
whose  right  it  is;  and  I  will  give  it  him."  Ezekiel  fully 
contemplates  that  the  returned  exiles  will  be  ruled  by  a 
Messianic  prince. 

Easy  Paths  to  Ezekiel 

He  was  a  prophet  among  the  exiles  in  Babylonia.  To 
clear  their  minds  of  false  hopes,  to  awaken  them  to  a  sense 


EZEKIEL;  WATCHMAN  UNTO  ISKAEL     125 

of  sin  and  righteousness,  and  to  show  them  the  one  possi- 
ble way  of  return  to  Jerusalem  was  no  slight  ministry. 

That  Jehovah  religion  survived  the  nation's  fall  is  due 
in  large  measure  to  Ezekiel.  The  Hebrews  who  fled  to 
Egypt,  carrying  Jeremiah  with  them,  play  no  part  in  the 
future  development  of  Israel's  religion.  That  the  Baby- 
lonian exiles  did  not  yield  to  the  religion  of  their  con- 
querors is  due  mainly  to  the  patient,  intense,  and  continu- 
ous ministry  of  Ezekiel. 

He  accomplished  this  task  through  the  strength  of  a 
few  overmastering  convictions:  (1)  Jehovah  is  the  abso- 
lute Sovereign  not  only  of  Israel  but  of  the  world.  He 
has  a  program  of  righteousness.  This  righteousness  ap- 
pears in  human  society  as  justice,  decency,  and  humanity 
among  individuals  and  a  nonlicentious,  nonidolatrous,  and 
unwavering  worship  of  Jehovah.  (2)  Israel's  history  has 
not  revealed  this  order  of  life.  It  has  been  a  continuous 
rebellion.  There  is  nothing  left  for  Jehovah  but  to  de- 
stroy the  nation.  The  destruction  of  Jerusalem  is  a  di- 
vinely ordered  event.  Jehovah  abandons  the  city  to  the 
arms  of  Nebuchadnezzar.  (3)  Having  left  his  city  and 
land,  he  becomes  a  sanctuary  for  the  exiles  until  such 
time  as  he  and  his  people  again  take  up  residence  in  Pales- 
tine. He  may  be  worshiped  in  Babylonia.  All  actual 
idolatry  and  all  longing  for  an  idolatrous  worship  must  be 
put  away.  The  Sabbaths  must  be  rigorously  kept.  Sin 
must  cease,  and  the  individual  must  seek  a  new  spirit 
from  Jehovah.  (4)  When  idolatry  has  been  put  away, 
sin  ended,  and  the  new  heart  received,  the  new  state  will 
be  set  up  in  Palestine;  the  exiles,  refined  by  the  awful 
calamities  endured,  will  know  Jehovah ;  and  in  such  aware- 
ness of  him  the  new  order  will  be  established  and  secured. 

Ezekiel  was  indeed  a  kingdom  builder.  In  the  fullest 
sense  he  was  a  watchman  of  the  house  of  Israel.  Stern 
moralist,  abounding  in  faith,  reliant  upon  God,  fearless 
of  foes,  patient  under  misunderstanding,  he  labored  to 
keep  pure  religion  alive  in  the  darkest  hour  of  Israel's 
life.  That  the  labors  of  Amos,  Hosea,  Isaiah,  Micah,  and 
Jeremiah  were  not  in  vain  is  due  very  much  to  Ezekiel's 


126  THE  EELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

genius  and  his  steadfastness  to  his  vision  of  the  things 
that  ought  to  be. 

For  Teavelers  to  the  Blessed  Lands 

Have  you  found  a  shining  path  through  the  darkness  of 
great  afflictions  to  the  City  of  Trust  and  Peace?  Ezekiel 
saw  Jehovah  rising  in  glory  from  the  doomed  city  to 
become  a  sanctuary  in  a  foreign  land.  The  Jewish  San- 
hedrin  handed  Jesus  death  in  a  cup  of  God.  Christ's 
grace  in  Paul  was  more  than  master  of  Satan's  messenger, 
the  thorn  in  his  flesh.  Tennyson  discovered  in  the  midst 
of  his  grief  for  Arthur  Hallam  "altar  stairs"  that  "sloped 
through  darkness  up  to  God." 

To  be  true  and  steadfast  in  a  dark  hour  is  not  only  to 
preserve  our  own  soul.  We  are  proving  that  the  labors  of 
a  host  of  former  seers  and  martyrs  are  not  in  vain.  Had 
Ezekiel  faltered,  the  prophetic  gains  of  two  centuries  would 
have  been  lost.  When  any  man  is  disloyal  to  his  own  ideals 
he  undermines  all  the  successes  of  the  past. 

These  studies  of  the  prophets  have  emphasized  the  tre- 
mendous worth  of  the  individual.  It  was  Isaiah  who  in 
701  infused  Jerusalem  with  the  spirit  of  trust  in  Jeho- 
vah so  that  the  city  weathered  the  Assyrian  storm.  Jere- 
miah was  the  one  counselor  trusted,  if  not  obeyed,  in  Jeru- 
salem's darkest  hour.  Ezekiel  made  it  possible  for  true 
religion  to  rise  from  Israel's  national  overthrow.  No  man 
dares  neglect  the  vision  of  trust  which  God  has  given 
him.  His  firmness,  loyalty,  and  faith  may  be  the  needed 
ministry  his  church  and  community  require.  There  never 
can  be  a  substitute  for  individual  initiative  and  boldness 
in  the  cause  of  justice,  righteousness,  and  love. 

Let  us  leam  from  Ezekiel  the  supreme  worth  of  the 
ideal.  An  invincible  Jerusalem  would  have  silenced  the 
messages  of  Jeremiah.  A  ruined  Jerusalem  without  an 
interpreter,  likewise,  would  have  crushed  the  kingdom 
of  the  spiritual  for  which  Jeremiah  had  pleaded.  Nothing 
but  a  spiritual  genius  could  have  preserved  the  exiles  from 
sinking  into  the  oblivion  of  the  Chaldean  world.  This 
Jeremiah  was. 


EZEKIEL:  WATCHMAN  UNTO  ISRAEL     127 

"It  takes  a  soul 
To  move  a  body ;  it  takes  a  high-souled  man 
To  move  the  masses  to  a  cleaner  sty; 
It  takes  the  ideal  to  blow  an  inch  inside 
The  dust  of  the  actual.'' 

Certainly  Mrs.  Browning  would  have  called  Ezekiel  one 
of  the  world's  much-needed  "high-souled"  men. 

What  gave  Ezekiel  his  soul?  "As  I  was  among  the 
captives,  ...  I  saw  visions  of  God."  Is  this  not  ever 
the  experience  that  creates  leadership  in  civilization?  In 
whatever  way  this  experience  is  mediated  it  consists  es- 
sentially in  an  unshaken  reliance  upon  the  Invisible  One, 
whose  purposes  are  progressively  revealed  in  the  visible 
world.  Such  a  conviction  unfolds  into  a  spiritual  com- 
merce with  hinu  God  ceases  to  be  a  definition,  a  control- 
ling force,  a  far-off  Person ;  he  becomes  a  King,  a  Friend, 
a  Father,  whose  will  is  lofty  but  lovable,  whose  friendship 
is  exalted  but  intimate,  whose  fatherliness  is  stern  but 
choicely  companionable  and  comforting.  He  becomes  per- 
sonal. 

Ezekiel  felt  a  gripping  responsibility  for  the  manner 
of  life  of  his  neighbors.  This  is  a  mark  of  greatness. 
Nobleness  ever  concerns  itself  with  meanness.  Live  such 
a  life  that  a  quiet  word  of  correction  will  not  antagonize 
your  neighbor  or  friend  who  needs  reproof,  but,  rather, 
will  stiffen  his  soul  against  evil.  Many  a  man  drifts  into 
a  vicious  life  because  no  one  at  the  first  offense  uttered  the 
corrective  and  restraining  word.  It  is  the  duty  of  every- 
one to  be  a  watchman  of  his  community.  Keep  your  vision 
of  God  shining  true  and  you  will  find  many  a  fine  chance 
to  repress  evil  and  encourage  righteousness.  To  do  this 
uncarpingly  is  a  gift  of  God.  The  rare  opportunity  is 
ours. 

Questions  fob  Students 

1.  What  is  known  of  the  personal  life  of  Ezekiel? 

2.  What  does  Ezekiel  mean  in  saying  that  he  is  a  watch- 
man unto  the  house  of  Israel? 

3.  What  sins  are  charged  against  Jerusalem  by  Ezekiel? 
Does  he  list  any  evils  unmentioned  by  Jeremiah? 


128  THE  RELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

4.  In  what  way  does  Ezekiel  account  for  the  destruction  of 
Jerusalem? 

5.  What  constitutes  the  teaching  of  the  false  prophets? 

6.  What  is  Ezekiel's  view  of  Hebrew  history?  To  what 
extent  is  he  correct? 

7.  What  is  Ezekiel's  view  of  the  origin  of  those  features  of 
the  sacrificial  system  which  he  condemns? 

8.  What  new  emphasis  was  given  to  the  Sabbath?    Why? 

9.  What  was  Ezekiel's  expectation  concerning  the  future  of 
Judah? 

Helps  fob  the  Mastery  of  Ezekiel 

History,  Prophecy,  and  the  Monuments,  McCurdy,  Volume 
in,  Book  X,  Chapter  VIII. 

The  Religion  of  Israel,  Smith,  pages  196-208. 

Article  "Ezekiel"  in  Dictionary  of  the  Bible,  Hastings, 
Volume  I,  page  815ff. 

Ezekiel  in  "The  Cambridge  Bible  for  Schools  and  Colleges." 


CHAPTER  XIII 

IN  THE  WAKE  OF  THE  EXILES 

Preceding  chapters  have  traced  the  religion  of  Judah 
from  the  division  of  the  kingdoms  to  the  capture  and 
sack  of  Jerusalem  586  B.  C.  The  devastation  of  the  city 
by  a  foreign  power  was  the  most  tragical  experience 
through  which  the  Hebrew  people  had  passed,  and  it  could 
not  be  other  than  a  turning  point  of  much  moment  in 
their  life.  It  was  the  final  blow  that  scattered  the  Jews 
far  and  wide  from  the  land  that  had  come  to  be  regarded 
passionately  as  their  own;  an  exile  that,  for  the  vast 
majority  of  the  race,  continues  to  this  day.  It  was  during 
the  exilic  years  immediately  following  the  fall  of  Jeru- 
salem, while  the  city  was  still  in  ruins,  that  Judaism — 
the  religious  beliefs  and  practices  of  the  Jews  against 
which  Christianity  was  a  reaction — took  its  rise.  The 
present  chapter  exhibits  something  of  the  life  of  those 
first  exilic  years,  the  effect  upon  them  of  the  fall  of  Jeru- 
salem, and  their  religious  life  under  the  changed  conditions. 

The  Fortunes  of  the  Jews  in  Egypt 

Read  2  Kings  25.  26  and  Jeremiah  43  for  the  with- 
drawal into  Egypt  of  the  Jews  who  had  slain  Gedaliah, 
together  with  others  who  feared  the  vengeance  of  Baby- 
lonia. The  language  in  Jeremiah  43.  6  intimates  that 
Jeremiah  was  carried  forcibly  with  these  exiles.  The 
lesson  of  Jerusalem's  destruction  was  lost  upon  these 
refugees.  Jerusalem  had  fallen  because  of  its  idolatry 
(44.  5,  6),  but  the  exiles,  untaught  by  this  calamity,  con- 
tinued to  practice  these  foreign  rites  (44.  7,  15-19). 
What  were  these  practices?  What  was  the  popular  ex- 
planation of  their  calamities?  Does  this  attitude  of  these 
Egyptian  exiles  explain  their  apparent  failure  to  con- 
tribute to  the  future   development  of   Israel's   religion? 

129 


130  THE  EELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

What  future  does  Jeremiah  promise  his  obdurate  country- 
men (44.  26-28)  ?  Excavations  in  recent  years  indicate 
that  the  Jews  in  Egypt,  instead  of  being  destroyed,  con- 
tinued to  increase  in  numbers.  One  of  these  Jewish  settle- 
ments was  on  the  island  of  Elephantine,  near  the  present 
Assuan.  They  formed  a  prosperous  community  in  the 
midst  of  their  Egyptian  neighbors,  had  their  temple  to 
Jehovah,  their  own  law  courts,  and  practiced  their  own 
customs.  As  we  shall  see  in  later  chapters,  the  Jews  in 
Egypt  continued  to  multiply  until  they  far  outnumbered 
their  brethren  in  Palestine.  They  seem,  however,  to  have 
had  little  direct  influence  upon  the  rise  and  development 
of  Judaism. 

Jerusalem  and  Judah  During  the  Exile 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  number  of  the  Jews  who 
fled  into  Egypt  and  were  carried  into  Babylonia,  a  large 
majority  were  left  in  the  villages  and  dismantled  towns 
of  Judah.  Those  who  remained  in  the  land  were  for  the 
most  part  the  poorer  peasantry  (2  Kings  25.  12),  and 
these  humble  inhabitants  easily  mingled  with  the 
Moabites,  Edomites,  Ammonites,  and  Philistines  who 
pressed  into  the  desolated  country.  In  the  course  of  years 
intermarriages  occurred,  and  the  worship  of  Jehovah, 
which  lingered  for  a  time,  became  more  and  more  degen- 
erate, until  it  was  repudiated  by  the  returning  exiles. 
Jerusalem  itself  was  left  desolate  (2  Kings  25.  9-11). 
The  destruction  was  intended  by  the  Babylonians  to  ren- 
der the  place  uninhabitable.  The  Temple,  palaces,  and 
walls  were  thrown  down,  and  the  city,  as  much  of  it  as  was 
possible,  was  burned. 

Yet  the  ruined  city,  at  least  for  a  time,  continued  to  be 
regarded  by  the  Jews  as  their  holy  city.  Worshipers  took 
their  mournful  way  to  the  sacred  site  to  offer  their  sacri- 
fices (Jeremiah  41.  5).  Doubtless  there  were  priests  who 
directed  and  encouraged  this  worship.  Ezekiel  (33.  23- 
29)  expresses  his  conviction  that  the  Jews  left  in  Pales- 
tine, although  they  outnumber  the  exiles,  cannot  again 
build  up  Jewish  civilization.    They  worship  idols,  commit 


IN  THE  WAKE  OF  THE  EXILES  131 

acts  of  violence,  do  not  observe  the  ceremonial  laws  in  the 
killing  of  animals,  and  make  unlawful  marriages.  Eze- 
kiel  expects  that  these  Jews  will  be  utterly  extinguished. 
Jeremiah's  assertion  that  the  land  is  without  inhabitants 
(44.  22)  does  not  correspond  to  the  probable  and  known 
facts.  Both  prophets,  however,  expected  little  from  those 
who  were  living  in  the  desolate  villages  and  towns,  which 
were  infected  with  the  same  abominations  that  had  pro- 
voked the  destruction  of  the  city.  Little  could  be  expected 
from  those  who  dwelt  in  "strongholds  and  caves." 

The  Exiles  in  Babylonia 

The  true  succession  of  Israel's  history  and  religion  rests 
with  the  Babylonian  exiles.  But  the  course  of  higher  re- 
ligion advanced  against  heavy  odds.  There  was  little  op- 
pression of  the  exiles.  As  in  Egypt,  they  lived  in  their 
own  self-governing  communities.  There  were  opportuni- 
ties of  agriculture  and  trade,  and  wealth  multiplied. 
Added  to  these  physical  inducements  to  forget  their  past 
home,  the  belief  was  prevalent  that  Jehovah  had  forsaken 
his  land  and  retired  to  some  distant  northern  throne 
(Isaiah  14.  13 ;  Ezekiel  1.  4).  Many  of  the  exiles,  consider- 
ing the  fate  of  Samaria,  must  have  given  up  hope  of  a 
return  to  Palestine.  It  was  the  task  of  the  clearer-visioned 
to  encourage  their  countrymen  to  interpret  the  past  ca- 
lamities and  to  awaken  hope  of  a  restoration  to  the  land 
of  their  fathers. 

Depression  and  Despair  of  the  Exiles. — ^Lamentations, 
chapters  2  and  4,  were  written  by  one  of  the  Babylonian 
exiles  in  the  years  immediately  following  the  destruction 
of  Jerusalem.  Read  2.  1-10.  Note  the  desolation  that 
has  befallen  Jerusalem :  '^A  cloud"  covers  "the  daughter  of 
Zion,"  "the  beauty  of  Israel"  is  "cast  down,"  her  palaces 
are  "swallowed  up,"  the  city's  gates  are  sunk  in  the  ground, 
the  Temple  is  destroyed.  Observe  in  these  and  in  similar 
expressions  the  writer's  passion  for  the  city  and  Temple. 
Have  we  met  this  love  for  Jerusalem  and  the  sanctuary 
in  any  previous  study?  Who  is  the  author  of  this  ca- 
lamity?    Observe  the  respect  for  the  king.     What  is  the 


132  THE  RELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

effect  of  this  catastrophe  upon  the  exiles?  (2.  6,  9,  10). 
Observe  especially  what  is  said  in  2.  10  about  the  prophets. 
These  are  the  "false  prophets''  of  whom  we  have  studied 
in  earlier  lessons.  Why  are  they  now  visionless?  What 
has  occasioned  this  terrible  blow  from  Jehovah  ?  Consider 
here  2.  14  and  reflect  whether  the  writer  was  not  one  of 
those  who,  before  the  city  fell,  believed  in  the  attitude  and 
message  not  of  Jeremiah  but  of  the  "false  prophets." 
This  song  reflects  the  transition  from  the  old  popular 
conception  of  the  relation  of  Jehovah  and  Israel  to  the 
ideals  of  the  great  prophets,  especially  Jeremiah  and  Eze- 
kiel,  who  declare  this  relation  to  be  ethical,  and,  therefore, 
that  nothing  but  righteousness  on  the  part  of  the  people 
would  insure  its  continuance.  It  was  this  view  that  Je- 
hovah himself  "swallowed  up  Israel,"  not  the  nation's  con- 
querors, which  saved  ethical  religion  from  perishing  from 
the  earth. 

Lamentations  4  pursues  the  same  theme.  There  are 
striking  touches  of  the  horror  of  the  siege  and  sack  of 
Jerusalem.  Does  the  author  specify  the  sins  that  have 
provoked  Jehovah  to  punish  the  state?  What  makes  the 
writer  so  sure  of  his  statement  in  4.  22  concerning  the 
Hebrew  exiles?  Examine  closely  these  two  dirges  and 
consider  the  author's  expectation  of  Israel's  restoration  to 
Palestine. 

The  author  of  Psalm  137  probably  witnessed  the  de- 
struction of  Jerusalem  and  was  carried  to  Babylon  in  586. 
Note  here,  too,  the  affection  for  Jerusalem,  even  in  her 
ruins;  the  feeling  that  Jehovah  cannot  be  worshiped  in 
Babylonia;  and  the  hope  of  punishment  for  their  con- 
querors. Would  you  say  this  Psalm  breathes  the  despair 
of  a  hopeless  exile?  There  are,  perhaps,  other  Psalms 
springing  from  the  drear  experiences  of  the  Exile,  but  the 
historical  background  of  these  songs  of  piety  is  usually  so 
dimly  sketched  that  they  cannot  be  used  confidently  for 
this  period. 

Ezekiel's  Prediction  of  a  Judgment  of  Nations. — Eze- 
kiel  at  no  time  experienced  the  hopelessness  of  the  writers 
of  these  dirges.    He  believed  in  a  restoration  to  Palestine. 


IN  THE  WAKE  OF  THE  EXILES  133 

He  believed  that  the  first  step  in  Jehovah's  program  of 
restoration  would  be  the  punishment  of  the  nation  that 
had  contributed  to  or  rejoiced  at  Jerusalem's  downfall. 
There  is  not  space  enough  to  study  Ezekiel's  denunciation 
of  these  nations,  but  the  earnest  student  will  wish  to  read 
them. 

(a)  Ammon  {25.  1-7);  Moah  {25.  8-11);  Edom  {25. 
12'lJf);  Philistines  (25.  15-17). — These  peoples  are  to  be 
devastated  because  they  have  exulted  and,  in  the  case  of 
Edom,  assisted  at  the  downfall  of  Judah.  The  defense- 
less condition  of  Judah  was  Edom's  opportunity  to  re- 
venge itself  against  the  Hebrew.  The  more  fertile  ter- 
ritory of  Judah  attracted  the  Edomites,  and  after  the  fall 
of  Jerusalem  they  pressed  into  southern  Palestine,  seized 
the  land,  and  harried  the  people.  Ezekiel  35  is  a  second 
doom  pronounced  by  the  prophet  against  this  nation.  In 
35.  10  Ezekiel  claims  that  the  devastated  country  is  still 
Jehovah's  country  and  under  his  immediate  care. 

(6)  Tyre  and  Sidon  {26-28) .—TyiQ  is  to  be  utterly  de- 
stroyed because  it  rejoiced  at  the  destruction  of  Jerusa- 
lem. The  student  should  read  at  least  26.  3-6.  (The 
daughters  of  Tyre  in  verse  6  are  the  city's  outlying  vil- 
lages.) Eead  especially  28.  25,  26  for  the  definite  state- 
ment that  judgment  first  must  fall  upon  all  those  nations 
which  have  done  Israel  despite  before  Jehovah  will  return 
the  people  to  their  and  his  land. 

(c)  Egypt  {EzeUel  ^9).— What  is  the  sin  of  Egypt? 
(29.  3,  6,  9).  Observe  that  the  punishment  of  Egypt  is 
exile  (29.  12),  and  that,  although  a  restoration  is  prom- 
ised (29.  13),  the  nation  henceforth  will  play  a  common- 
place role.  A  little  more  than  sixteen  years  lie  between 
29.  1-6  and  29.  17-21.  Note  the  latter  section,  in  which 
Ezekiel  acknowledges  that  his  prediction  of  the  destruc- 
tion of  Tyre  was  not  fulfilled.  However,  he  stills  clings 
to  his  belief  in  the  destruction  of  Egypt;  but  subsequent 
history  did  not  carry  out  Ezekiel's  expectations. 

Ezekiel  Promises  a  Return  of  the  Exiles  to  Jerusalem. 
— Jehovah  indeed  had  destroyed  Jerusalem,  but  he  pur- 
posed likewise  to  restore  his  scattered  people  to  their  land. 


134  THE  EELIGIOX  OF  JUDAH 

(a)  Ezekiel  3J/.. — Greedy  shepherds — that  is,  princes, 
priests,  and  prophets — have  slain  and  scattered  the  flock, 
Israel.  Jehovah,  the  Good  Shepherd,  will  gather  the  sheep 
from  distant  hill  and  mountain  and  bring  them  again  to 
their  pasturages  in  Palestine.  Observe  especially  34.  23- 
31.  What  very  important  details  of  the  restored  nation 
are  given? 

(h)  Ezekiel  86  is  a  magnificent  prophecy  of  restoration. 
Observe  especially  36.  16-21,  stating  that  Judah's  calami- 
ties are  well  deserved,  and  36.  22-32,  which  declares  that 
the  return  to  Palestine  is  determined,  but  not  because  of 
the  people's  merits.  What  motive  moves  Jehovah  to  this 
restoration?  What  assurance  is  given  that  the  people 
hereafter  will  be  able  to  merit  this  mercy  of  Jehovah? 
Observe  that  Ezekiel,  like  Jeremiah,  sees  that  the  springs 
of  genuine  ethical  religion  are  in  the  soul  of  man.  Note 
that,  after  the  restoration  and  the  enjoyment  of  the  new 
blessings,  a  new  vision  of  their  iniquitous  past  will  insure 
their  loyalty  to  Jehovah  (36.  31).  An  experience  of 
Jehovah's  mercy  will  deepen  the  consciousness  of  sin. 

(c)  Ezekiel  37. — A  prophecy  of  the  resurrection  of  the 
nation.  Again  Ezekiel  seeks  to  awaken  the  hopes  of  his 
fellow  exiles.  He  concedes  that  the  nation  is  dead  in  the 
scattered  sons  of  Israel.  But  Jehovah  is  not  limited  by 
such  disaster.  Dry  bones  can  be  brought  to  life  when  he 
wills.  Observe  (verse  11)  that  these  dead  are  not  individ- 
uals in  their  graves,  but  the  symbol  of  the  hopelessness  of 
the  living  exiles.  The  graves  of  verses  12,  13  are  likewise  a 
similar  figure  of  speech.  Note  also  that  Ezekiel  expects 
the  exiles  of  the  northern  kingdom  to  share  in  this  restora- 
tion. Ezekiel  must  have  known  of  descendants  of  the 
Samaritan  exiles,  who  might  share  in  the  return.  The 
scattered  peoples  of  both  kingdoms  are  to  be  united  into 
one  nation.  What  details  of  the  new  kingdom  are  given 
in  verses  24-28  ? 

The  Destruction  of  the  Babylonians  Predicted. — Eead 
Isaiah,  chapters  13  and  14.  Ezekiel  appears  never  to  have 
predicted  the  overthrow  of  the  Babylonian  Empire ;  and  as 
time  passed,  the  hopes  he  had  awakened  were  mingled  with 


IN  THE  WAKE  OF  THE  EXILES  135 

gloom.  It  became  evident  that  the  Babylonian  policy 
contemplated  no  rebuilding  of  the  Hebrew  state.  At  the 
same  time  there  was  evidently  a  growing  weakness  in  the 
Babylonian  kingdom.  These  two  facts  stimulated  the 
prophets  to  predict  the  downfall  of  Babylonia  as  a  neces- 
sary prelude  of  the  restoration  of  the  Hebrew  nation. 

Babylon  was  captured  by  the  Persians  under  Cyrus  in 
538  B.  C.  These  chapters  apparently  are  from  an  unknown 
prophet  a  few  years  before  the  capture  of  Babylon.  Ob- 
serve that  Jehovah  is  marshaling  an  army  not  of  Jews  but 
of  aliens  to  devastate  Babylon  (13.  2-5).  These  alien  hosts 
are  his  "consecrated  ones.'^  They  are  assembling  in  the 
mountains,  and  their  hosts,  marching  upon  Babylon,  will 
strike  consternation  and  dismay  into  the  proud  Baby- 
lonians, who  have  devastated  Jehovah's  city  and  carried 
his  people  captive.  The  mountains  are  the  land  of  Media, 
from  conquering  which  Cyrus  led  his  armies  into  Baby- 
lonia. The  day  of  Jehovah  (13.  9-22)  is  a  time  of  dire 
and  overwhelming  judgment  upon  Babylonia.  These 
"sinners"  of  Babylon  are  so  wicked  that  the  whole  world 
must  suffer  for  their  iniquity. 

"/  will  make  the  heavens  to  tremble. 
And  the  earth  shall  he  shaken  out  of  its  place," 

(13,  13.) 

Here  we  meet  the  beginnings  of  the  apocalyptic  literature 
which  figures  so  largely  in  later  Messianic  prophecies. 
Notice  the  fierce  cruelty  that  the  prophet  believes  the 
Babylonians  will  suffer :  men  thrust  through  by  the  sword, 
children  dashed  in  pieces,  and  women  ravished.  The  per- 
manent desolation  of  the  city  is  assured.  It  shall  be  the 
abode  of  satyrs,  wolves,  and  jackals.  Cyrus,  contrary  to 
this  prophet's  expectation,  seems  to  have  treated  Babylon 
with  unusual  consideration.  The  city  was  not  destroyed, 
and  the  inhabitants  were  not  dealt  with  harshly. 

Isaiah  14.  9-23  possesses  exceeding  interest.  It  is  one 
of  the  earliest  references  in  the  Old-Testament  literature 
to  life  after  death.  Human  beings  who  die  pass  into  an 
underworld  deep  below  the  surface  of  the  earth  where 


136  THE  RELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

they  have  acted  their  noble  or  unworthy  parts.  The  de- 
scent of  the  Babylonian  king,  the  great  oppressor  of  na- 
tions, as  this  prophet  regards  him,  stirs  the  whole  under- 
world into  excitement.  His  fellow  kings  of  the  past  re- 
mind him  of  his  weakness  and  rejoice  at  his  humiliation. 
They  assure  him  that  nothing  less  than  "the  uttermost 
parts  of  the  pit"  await  him  who  would  not  "loose  his 
prisoners  to  their  home'^  (14.  17).  They  reproach  him, 
too,  that  his  body  has  not  had  honorable  burial  (14.  19). 
With  this  description  of  the  underworld  should  be  com- 
pared EzekiePs  judgment  of  the  nations  (32.  18-32),  in 
which  the  dead  of  various  nations  are  grouped  together 
in  Hades.  The  more  culpable  nations,  from  Ezekiel's 
point  of  view,  occupy  the  lower  depths  of  the  underworld. 
In  both  these  passages  there  is  no  conception  of  individual 
immortality  with  moral  awards  according  to  life  on  earth. 
The  immortality  is  group  immortality,  and  life  after  death 
is  conceived  for  all  in  gloomy  terms. 

SUMMAHY 

The  wonder  grows  that  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  did 
not  silence  the  worship  of  Jehovah  and  end  the  rise  of 
ethical  religion  in  the  world.  This  lesson  sets  before  us 
the  critical  situation  of  the  kingdom  of  God  at  this  period 
of  the  world's  history.  Palestine,  though  not  stripped  of 
Hebrews,  ceased  to  develop  the  religion  of  the  fathers. 
The  contribution  to  the  world's  civilization  of  those  who 
remained  in  the  land  was  slight  indeed.  Those  who  fled 
into  Egypt,  d:hough  they  continued  to  worship  Jehovah  and 
multiplied  in  numbers,  appear  to  have  exercised  no  influ- 
ence at  least  for  several  generations  upon  the  development 
of  Judaism.  It  remained  for  those  in  Babylon  to  cherish 
the  achievements  of  the  past,  to  reflect  upon  the  meaning 
of  their  calamities,  to  hold  steadfastly  to  their  faith  in 
Jehovah,  and  to  follow  the  gleam  that  he  flashed  into  their 
expectant  souls. 

We  have  seen  in  Psalm  137  and  in  the  two  dirges  from 
Lamentations  that  the  exiles  generally,  under  the  instruc- 
tion of  Jeremiah  and  Ezekiel,  recognized  that  the  destruc- 


m  THE  WAKE  OF  THE  EXILES  137 

tion  of  Jerusalem  was  a  judgment  upon  Israel's  sins.  But 
the  catastrophe  was  so  overwhelming,  and  the  exultation 
of  the  nations  so  pronounced  that  there  was  no  hope  of 
deliverance  and  restoration.  Then  there  arose  a  series  of 
prophets  whose  services  to  ethical  religion  are  inestimable. 
They  kept  alive  the  faith  of  their  countrymen  in  Jehovah 
as  the  one  true  God.  He  had  not  been  discredited  but 
exalted  in  the  destruction  of  Israel.  His  program  for 
the  future  is  a  new  Israel  exalted  above  her  enemies  and 
rising  loftily  over  her  own  checkered  history.  This  is  the 
service  Ezekiel  rendered  the  world.  After  him  at  least 
three  unknown  prophets,  one  of  whom  is  the  author  of 
Isaiah  13  and  14,  and  two  others,  to  be  considered  in  the 
next  chapter,  continued  this  ministry  of  faith  and  hope. 

Stairways  to  Higher  Civilization 

No  hour  is  dark  enough  to  put  out  the  torch  of  hope. 
There  is  no  need  that  hope  ever  should  be  extinguished 
utterly  in  any  man.  Again  and  again  evil  ascends  the 
throne  of  an  age,  a  nation,  a  man's  own  soul;  but  as  long 
as  man  feels  that  evil  is  a  tyrant  and  usurper,  the  dawn 
trembles  to  light  the  world. 

The  civilization  of  our  dreams — the  day  of  justice  and 
righteousness  and  love  among  men — can  neither  come  nor 
abide  until  man's  "stony  heart"  gives  way  to  a  "heart  of 
flesh."  This  heart  of  flesh — this  inner  life  of  the  soul — 
is  the  spring  of  all  programs  of  human  welfare.  Until 
man  loves  supremely  and  wisely,  all  sagely  devised  insti- 
tutions are  in  vain.  Man's  inner  life  never  will  be  il- 
lumined to  see  the  larger  welfare  and  never  will  be 
strengthened  to  strive  for  it  and  maintain  it  until  he 
works  in  fellowship  with  God.  There  is  no  social  welfare 
apart  from  religion. 

The  dreamer  is  the  builder  of  civilization.  The  man 
who  sees  clearly  the  church  and  state  that  ought  to  be 
alone  knows  the  immediate  practical  thing  to  do.  Many  a 
Christian  and  many  a  church  stagnates  to-day  because 
there  is  no  commanding  program.  If  you  would  make 
your  life  buoyant  and  significant,  decide  what  you  would 


138  THE  RELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

like  to  be  or  ought  to  be  in  ten  or  twenty  years  from  to-day. 
If  you  would  have  your  church  a  vital  factor  in  your  com- 
munity, determine  what  your  church  ought  to  be  accom- 
plishing in  the  next  half  century  to  maintain  its  intel- 
lectual, social,  and  moral  leadership  of  the  community. 
See  the  distant  scene,  and  the  path  of  the  hour  is  il- 
lumined. 

Remember  that  it  is  sheer  optimism  that  saves  the  world. 
Ezekiel  simply  would  not  consider  defeat.  Jesus  in  no 
wise  considered  that  crucifixion  spoiled  his  plans.  Huss 
saw  the  fires  of  a  world  reformation  in  the  flames  that 
burned  his  body  into  ashes.  He  who  exclaims,  "What's 
the  use  ?''  is  a  cumberer  of  the  earth.  Optimism  will  out- 
law intoxicating  drinks  the  world  round,  will  give  woman 
her  long-delayed  economic  and  civil  rights,  will  toll  the 
death  of  war,  will  reorganize  righteously  the  economic 
life  of  the  world.  Do  not  forget  that  God  has  a  program ; 
he  is  not  being  defeated  by  the  foolish  rebellion  of  men. 
Trust  and  obey  him,  and  the  better  days  will  the  sooner 
dawn. 

Questions  fob  Discussion 

1.  Why  was  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  a  turning  point 
in  Hebrew  religion? 

2.  What  made  these  years  of  Jewish  exile  such  a  critical 
period  in  the  world's  civilization? 

3.  Did  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  advance  the  cause  of 
religion? 

4.  What  would  have  been  the  probable  course  of  Hebrew 
religious  life  had  the  integrity  of  the  state  been  preserved? 

5.  Why  were  the  Jews  who  fled  to  Egypt  so  slightly  influ- 
ential in  the  further  development  of  Hebrew  religion? 

6.  What  conditions  during  the  exilic  period  were  unfavor- 
able to  the  maintenance  of  the  worship  of  Jehovah  among  the 
Palestinian  Jews? 

7.  Since  the  rise  of  prophetism  was  essential  to  the  con- 
tinuance and  development  of  Hebrew  religion  in  the  exilic 
period,  what  conditions  in  Babylonia  favored  the  appearance 
of  those  prophets  who  became  the  saviors  of  religion? 

8.  Why  did  the  Jews,  neither  in  Egypt  nor  in  Palestine, 
produce  prophets? 

9.  To  what  does  the  author  of  Lamentations  (chapters  2 
and  4)  attribute  the  downfall  of  Jerusalem? 


IN  THE  WAKE  OF  THE  EXILES  139 

10.  According  to  Ezekiel  what  is  the  first  act  of  the  drama 
of  the  restoration  of  the  Jewish  state? 

11.  What  political  organization  does  Ezekiel  conceive  neces- 
sary for  the  new  state? 

12.  To  what  extent  Is  Ezekiel's  conception  of  Sheol  bor- 
rowed from  or  influenced  by  Babylonian  ideas? 

13.  To  what  extent  does  this  study  of  the  exile  impress  you 
with  belief  in  the  supreme  watch  and  guidance  of  God  in 
the  affairs  of  men? 

Works  of  Reference 

History,  Prophecy,  and  the  Monuments,  McCurdy,  Volume 
III,  Book  XI,  Chapters  IV,  V. 

Jerusalem,  Smith,  Volume  II,  pages  266-94. 

The  Religious  Teaching  of  the  Old  Testament,  Knudson, 
pages  385-90. 


CHAPTER  XIV 
TWO  NAMELESS  KINGDOJ^  BUILDERS 

The  armies  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  the  Chaldean  king  of 
Babylon,  had  plundered  and  destroyed  Jerusalem  in  586 
B.  C.  At  his  death  in  562  his  son  Amil-Marduk  (Evil- 
merodach;  2  Kings  25.  27)  ascended  the  throne.  The 
Biblical  statement  (2  Kings  25.  27-30)  that  he  liberated 
Jehoiachin  and  provided  royally  for  the  dethroned  king 
is  all  that  is  known  of  this  monarch's  reign.  Amil- 
Marduk  was  assassinated,  and  his  brother-in-law  Nergal- 
sharezer  ascended  the  throne.  The  latter  king,  follow- 
ing the  policy  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  checked  the  hope  that 
the  liberation  of  Jehoiachin  awakened  among  the  exiles. 
In  556  Nergal-sharezer  died,  and  after  a  few  months'  rule 
by  his  son  the  Chaldean  house  ended  in  this  youth's 
assassination.  Nabonidus,  a  Babylonian,  then  ruled  the 
destiny  of  the  empire.  This  king  was  a  great  restorer 
and  builder  of  temples  and  seems  to  have  neglected  other 
public  affairs.  But  it  was  a  reign  of  peace  and  prosperity. 
During  this  period  the  Persians,  under  Cyrus,  arose  against 
the  Medes  and  won  the  territory  that  once  composed  a 
large  part  of  the  Assyrian  Empire.  Nabonidus  paid  no 
heed  to  this  rising  power;  and  when  Cyrus  approached 
Babylon  in  538,  the  city  fell  into  his  hands  without 
resistance. 

Ezekiel's  ministry  belongs  to  the  earlier  part  of  the 
period  sketched  above.  Since  he  uttered  no  predictions 
of  the  downfall  of  the  Chaldean  Empire,  it  is  most  probable 
that  he  did  not  live  beyond  the  hopes  of  restoration  awak- 
ened by  the  liberation  of  Jehoiachin.  From  Ezekiel's 
death  until  the  ascendancy  of  the  Persians  became  ap- 
parent, there  was  nothing  to  encourage  belief  in  a  return 
to  Palestine.  Undoubtedly  this  was  a  despondent  gen- 
eration. If  Israel  was  not  to  return  to  Palestine,  then 
Jehovah's    purposes    were    thwarted,    Ezekiel    and    Jere- 

140 


TWO  NAMELESS  KINGDOM  BUILDERS     141 

miah  were  mistaken,  and  there  was  little  use  in  clinging 
to  their  oft-deferred  hope  and  the  religious  customs  of 
their  fathers:  they  might  as  well  succumb  to  the  in- 
evitable destiny  and  mingle  in  the  civil  and  religious  life 
of  the  Babylonians. 

In  this  dark  hour  arose  the  grandest  of  IsraePs  seers. 
Even  should  there  be  no  return  to  Jerusalem,  Jehovah 
was  still  with  them  and  had  in  them  and  for  them  a 
glorious  destiny.  Their  mission  to  the  world  was  such 
that  nothing  less  than  this  prolonged  and  hopeless  cap- 
tivity could  accomplish  it.  Those  who  remained  faithful 
and  loyal  to  Jehovah  through  their  very  sufferings  and 
faith,  and  through  these  alone,  could  bear  that  witness  to 
the  alien  world  which  would  win  their  allegiance  to  Je- 
hovah and  accomplish  their  salvation. 

The  Great  Evangelist  of  the  Exile 

His  message  is  preserved  in  four  oracles  embedded  in 
Isaiah  40  to  55.  These  present  a  portrait  of  the  "servant 
of  Jehovah^'  and  his  mission. 

(a)  Isaiah  Jf2.  1-Jf. — Observe  that  somebody  is  Jehovah's 
servant,  in  whom  he  delights,  and  in  whom  is  his  Spirit. 
What  is  the  mission  of  this  servant?  (verse  1).  (The 
word  "justice"  used  here  really  means  the  whole  of  the 
beliefs  and  ordinances  of  Israel's  religion.)  Notice  the 
method  of  this  vast  undertaking  to  evangelize  the  heathen 
world  (verse  2).  This  evangelist  is  not  to  conduct  a 
series  of  whirlwind  tabernacle  campaigns;  it  is  a  quiet, 
unobtrusive,  intensive,  individual  propaganda  which  is 
here  contemplated.  Verse  3  indicates  that  there  are  ele- 
ments of  faith  and  goodness  even  in  the  midst  of  the 
idolatry  and  superstition  of  the  heathen  world,  and  that 
thefee  are  to  be  strengthened  and  fanned  into  flame,  not 
destroyed  by  bigotry  and  egotism.  Gentleness  and  con- 
ciliation, not  harsh  reproaches  and  stern  denunciation,  will 
commend  the  religion  of  Jehovah.  Verse  4  declares  the 
indefatigable  zeal  of  the  servant  in  the  pursuit  of  his  mis- 
sion, which  shall  not  end  until  the  most  distant  lands  have 
accepted  Jehovah's  true  religion. 


142  THE  EELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

(h)  Isaiah  J^Q.  1-6  is  the  second  of  these  servant  songs. 
Who  is  the  speaker?  Who  the  audience?  Note  the  con- 
viction of  the  servant  that  he  is  called  to  his  mission  by 
Jehovah  from  his  earliest  existence.  What  prophet  held  a 
similar  belief  ?  How  is  the  servant's  eSectiveness  of  speech 
here  symbolized?  What  words  declare  the  certainty  of 
success  for  the  servant's  mission  to  the  Gentile  world? 
What  is  the  servant's  own  opinion  concerning  the  success 
of  his  mission?  Yet  observe  that  he  recognizes  that  the 
issue  is  with  Jehovah.  Verses  6  and  6  may  be  rendered 
as  follows: 

^'And  now  is  Jehovah  minded 
(Who  formed  me  from  the  womb  to  he  his  servant) 
To  bring  Jacob  back  again 
And  gather  Israel  unto  him; 
And  to  me,  honored  in  Jehovah's  eyes. 
And  strength  receiving  from  my  God, 
He  saith,  'Slight  task  it  is  to  establish  Jacob's  tribes 
And  bring  back  the  preserved  of  Israel; 
Rather  shall  you  be  a  light  unto  the  Oentiles 
And  my  salvation  be  unto  all  the  earth/ "" 

The  student  must  be  impressed  by  the  splendid  great- 
ness of  this  sentiment.  Jeremiah  and  Ezekiel  concerned 
themselves  with  the  restoration  of  Israel  to  Palestine; 
this  servant  of  Jehovah  accepts  the  teaching  of  these  older 
prophets  that  it  is  Jehovah's  purpose  to  restore  exiled 
Israel  to  its  ancient  land.  But  there  is  a  higher  task  for 
the  servant  of  Jehovah  than  to  labor  for  this  restoration. 
Jehovah  himself  will  perform  this  in  his  own  good  time. 
He  now  commits  to  his  servant  a  far  grander  enterprise. 
He  is  to  be  Jehovah's  light  in  the  midst  of  vast  Gentile 
darkness;  he  is  to  become  Jehovah's  messenger  of  the 
true  religion  which  is  the  world's  salvation. 

(c)  Isaiah  50.  Jf-9. — This  is  the  third  song  of  the  ser- 
vant of  Jehovah.  Who  is  the  speaker?  Does  he  have  an 
auditory  or  is  he  soliloquizing?  Verse  4  expresses  the 
servant's  preparation  to  become  the  teacher  of  the  heathen 
world  weary  with  its  idolatry.    Verse  5  states  the  servant's 


TWO  NAMELESS  KINGDOM  BUILDERS     143 

unquestioned  obedience  to  the  divine  will,  and  verse  6 
describes  his  willing  submission  to  the  insults  and  suffering 
inflicted  by  a  misunderstanding  heathendom.  Yet  he  was 
sustained  (verses  7-9)  by  a  sublime  consciousness  of  the 
presence  of  Him  who  had  called  and  commissioned  him. 
(d)  These  servant  songs  climax  in  the  well-known  pas- 
sage Isaiah  52.  13  to  53, 12. — Here  we  reach  the  heights  of 
Hebrew  prophecy. 

(1)  52.  13-15.— Who  is  the  speaker?  Who  are  the 
hearers  ?  What  prediction  is  made  of  the  servant's  renown 
and  destiny  ?  Verses  14,  15  may  be  thus  paraphrased :  The 
servant's  marred  and  deformed  appearance  was  little  cal- 
culated to  commend  him  to  the  Gentiles,  but  his  sublime 
mission  makes  him  the  surprise  of  the  nations.  Kings 
shall  be  awed  in  his  presence,  for  they  shall  now  perceive 
things  which  hitherto  they  never  may  have  seen  or  heard. 

(2)  53.  1-10. — Who  is  now  the  speaker?  The  opening 
question  of  verse  1  should  be,  as  the  marginal  reading 
suggests,  "Who  could  have  believed  what  we  have  heard?'' 
Jehovah's  servant  grew  up  in  the  presence  of  the  Gentile 
nations,  but  there  was  no  attractiveness  in  him  for  their 
eyes.  What  further  statement  (in  verse  4)  is  made  of 
the  way  in  which  he  was  regarded  by  the  heathen  world? 
Verse  4  is  thus  translated  in  "The  New  Century  Bible": 

"Yet  our  diseases  'twas  he  who  bore. 
And  our  sufferings,  he  bore  their  load; 
While  we,  we  thought  him  plague-stricken. 
Smitten  of  God,  and  humiliated.'' 

What  further  words  describe  the  vicarious  suffering  of 
Jehovah's  servant?  Observe  the  gentle,  uncomplaining 
spirit  (verse  7)  in  which  this  persecuted  servant  bore  his 
afflictions  unto  death.  The  text  of  verses  8,  9  is  not  clear; 
the  following  probably  expresses  the  meaning: 

''By  high-handed  oppression  was  he  stricken  down. 

Who  among  his  people  regarded  his  death? 

Yet  for  their  transgressions  was  he  smitten. 

Ilis  grave  was  made  among  the  sinful  and  wealthy. 

Although  he  was  guiltless  of  violence  and  deceit." 


144  THE  RELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

Verse  10,  also  confused,  may  be  expressed  thus: 

"It  luas  Jehovah's  will  to  crush  him 
And  to  make  him  an  offering  for  sin; 
Yet  his  life  shall  not  end,  he  shall  behold  posterity, 
And  the  purpose  of  Jehovah  shall  prosper  in  his  hand'* 

(3)  53.  11,  12. — The  speaker  now  changes.  Who  is  he? 
The  text  here  too  is  uncertain.  The  following  is  perhaps 
the  general  sense : 

"Through  the  travail  of  his  soul  shall  he  see  the  light  sat- 
isfying; 
By  his  knowledge  shall  my  servant  bring  many  to  right- 
eousness; 
The  burden  of  their  iniquities  shall  he  bear. 
Therefore,  shall  he  receive  his  portion  among  the  great 
And  have  his  share  of  spoil  with  the  strong. 
Because  he  poured  out  his  soul  unto  death 
And  let  himself  be  reckoned  a  transgressor. 
Yet  it  was  the  punishment  of  the  many  which  he  bore 
And  for  transgressors  that  he  interposed." 

The  Servants  of  Jehovah 

The  heights  of  ethical  religion  are  reached  in  the  servant 
songs  of  the  older  of  these  two  unknown  prophets  living 
in  the  latter  half  of  the  Babylonian  exile.  It  is  impera- 
tive to  determine  who  is  to  be  understood  by  "the  servant 
of  Jehovah.'^  Many  Christian  writers  have  thought  these 
utterances  were  a  prediction  of  the  life  and  work  of  Jesus. 
That  this  interpretation  does  not  do  these  writings  justice 
is  evident  from  any  consideration  of  the  meaning  of  He- 
brew prophecy.  Those  great  men  who  lifted  Hebrew  wor- 
ship into  ethical  monotheism  were  not  concerned  about 
the  precise  details  of  far-off  events.  Distant  scenes  were 
not  their  concern.  They  were  the  interpreters  of  cur- 
rent events  to  their  own  generation.  It  would  not  have 
been  of  supreme  inspiration  to  the  Babylonian  exiles  to  have 
brought  to  them  a  foretelling  of  the  life  of  Jesus,  who  was 
not  to  be  born  for  more  than  five  hundred  years.    Nothing 


TWO  NAMELESS  KINGDOM  BUILDERS     145 

less  than  a  counsel  or  a  hope  for  immediate  use  would 
avail.  This  servant,  now  proclaimed  to  them,  must  be 
one  in  their  own  times  or  he  could  not  be  of  immediate  help 
to  them. 

Since  there  has  been  preserved  the  name  of  no  in- 
dividual of  the  Exile  who  in  any  measure  could  have  war- 
ranted such  an  ideal  eulogy  or  achieved  such  a  heroic 
service,  we  must  dismiss  the  thought  that  this  servant  of 
Jehovah  is  an  individual.  The  Second  Isaiah's  polemic 
against  idols  and  his  thrilling  summons  to  his  people 
to  shake  off  the  notion  of  Jehovah's  impotence  and  indif- 
ference reveal  the  danger  to  which  Israel  was  subjected 
in  foreign  lands.  Undoubtedly  thousands  of  Jews,  dis- 
couraged by  repeatedly  blasted  hopes,  must  have  drifted 
into  conformity  with  the  religious  and  political  prac- 
tices around  them.  But  there  were  others,  hoping  in  the 
midst  of  despair  and  meditating  upon  the  nation's  past, 
who  were  molded  into  a  true  Israel  in  the  midst  of 
heathenism. 

This  true  Israel,  misunderstood  and  persecuted  by  their 
conquerors  and  adversely  judged  by  those  Jews  who  had 
conformed  to  Babylonian  life,  is  Jehovah's  servant.  It  is 
this  group  of  exiles  to  whom  this  author  speaks.  He 
wished  them  to  understand  their  own  high  mission  in 
the  world.  Theirs  was  a  vicarious  suffering.  The  afflic- 
tions they  bore  were  not  penal  alone.  There  rested  upon 
them  the  grossness  of  religious  beliefs  and  practices  of 
the  whole  world.  They  were  the  teachers  and  the  atoners 
of  mankind.  Religion  at  its  loftiest  is  to  put  aside  one's 
immediate  glory  and  destiny  and,  suffering  the  afflictions 
that  selfishness  ever  thrusts  upon  altruism,  to  go  forth 
even  unto  death  and  proclaim  in  heroic  deed  the  sublime 
satisfaction  won  in  loyalty  to  one's  ideal.  Israel's  mis- 
sion was  not  to  found  a  state  but  to  convert  a  world  to 
the  holy  and  righteous  God,  whom  the  prophets  from  Amos 
to  Ezekiel  had  proclaimed;  it  was  to  sweep  away  from 
the  nations  the  gross  idolatry,  the  senseless  ritual  of  div- 
ination, sorcery,  and  sacrifice,  and  to  fill  human  life  with 
glad  acceptance  of  an  etliical  and  spiritual  Deity's  will. 


146  THE  RELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

Everyone  who  grasps  this  thinker's  dream  of  mission- 
ary service  will  be  thrilled  by  its  grandeur.  It  is  little 
wonder  that  his  contemporaries  could  not  follow  him,  and 
that,  later,  Judaism  found  no  place  for  his  universalism. 
It  may  be  truthfully  though  regretfully  said  that  to  have 
carried  any  considerable  proportion  of  his  countrymen  with 
him  would  have  been  disastrous.  His  age  was  not  yet 
ready  for  such  a  conception  of  religion  and  life.  Jesus 
of  Nazareth,  who  sought  to  make  this  ideal  the  basis 
of  his  kingdom,  was  put  to  death.  His  teaching,  still  too 
lofty  for  the  world,  was  distorted  by  his  followers.  Nor  is 
our  age  truly  ripe  for  this  dream.  Yet  civilization  will 
not  shine  with  its  fullest  splendor  until  some  great  nation 
deliberately  sacrifices  itself  for  truth,  righteousness,  and 
peace.  Bigotry,  egotism,  greed,  reliance  upon  physical 
strength,  and  longing  for  material  goals  are  the  curse  of 
modern  nations.  Let  some  great  nation  arise  in  the  spirit 
of  this  nameless  evangelist  and  sacrifice  all  for  the  sake 
of  the  brotherhood  to  be,  and  the  world  then,  and  not  until 
then,  will  be  the  kingdom  of  the  Christ. 

Deutero-Isaiah 

The  fortieth  to  the  fifty-fifth  chapters  of  Isaiah,  with 
the  exception  of  the  sections  studied  above,  usually  are 
assigned  to  another  nameless  prophet  of  the  Babylonian 
exile,  who,  for  want  of  a  better  name,  is  called  Deutero-, 
or  Second,  Isaiah.  These  prophecies  were  probably  com- 
posed between  546  and  538  B.  C.  Their  author  included  in 
his  book  these  servant  passages,  the  work  of  an  earlier 
prophet.  The  mission  of  this  prophet  was  to  quicken  among 
his  people  the  hopes  of  a  speedy  deliverance  from  exile  and 
a  return  to  Jerusalem.    How  did  he  undertake  this  task? 

(a)  Deliverance  from  exile  and  restoration  to  Palestine 
is  at  hand.  Examine  Isaiah  40.  1,  2;  51.  5,  12-14;  52. 
7-12  and  observe  the  need  of  such  a  message  to  relieve  the 
despondency  of  the  exiles.  How  speedily  does  this  prophet 
expect  the  Exile  to  end?  There  is  a  short  song  (48.  20, 
21)   that,  when  rendered  properly  into  English,  conveys 


TWO  NAMELESS  KINGDOM  BUILDERS     147 

the  spirit  of  urgency  and  expectancy  characteristic  of  this 
prophet.    Verse  20  may  be  rendered  thus : 

*'Go  forth  from  Babylon, 
Flee  from  the  Chaldees; 
With  loud  song  proclaim  it, 
These  tidings  make  known. 

Send  it  forth 
To  the  end  of  the  earth: 
Say,  'Yahweh  hath  ransomed 
Jacob  his  slave/  "^ 

(b)  Nearly  a  generation  had  passed  since  Ezekiel  had 
aroused  their  hopes  of  release,  but  the  restoration  was  as 
far  off  as  ever.  What  assurance  could  be  offered  that  this 
new  prophet,  like  Ezekiel,  was  not  mistaken  ?  This  Second 
Isaiah  urged  upon  his  despondent,  questioning  countrymen 
these  considerations: 

(1)  The  might  and  wisdom  of  Jehovah. — Read  40.  12- 
17,  22,  26,  28;  42.  5,  13-17;  44.  6;  45.  9-13;  46.  13;  52.  9. 
Observe  the  claims  that  are  made  for  Israel's  God.  To 
what  extent  would  such  beliefs  be  difficult  for  these  exiles  ? 
When  once  accepted,  what  bearing  would  they  have  upon 
their  religious  practices?  upon  their  hopes  of  return  to 
Jerusalem  ? 

(2)  The  righteousness  and  holiness  of  Jehovah  and  his 
love  for  Israel. — Read  41.  1-20  and  observe  the  gracious 
words  in  which  doubting  Israel  is  assured  of  Jehovah's 
love  and  yearning  to  deliver  his  people  from  their  dis- 
tresses. Israel  is  Jehovah's  people;  even  in  exile  he  has 
not  cast  them  away.  See,  similarly,  43.  1-13;  44.  1-8;  49. 
14-26.  Jehovah's  very  holiness  and  righteousness  impel 
him  to  fulfill  his  ancient  purpose  to  magnify  his  people 
Israel. 

(a)  Granting  these  truths,  the  prophet's  auditors  yet 
would  ask  him  how  these  things  were  to  come  to  pass.  The 
gods  of  the  Chaldeans  had  shown  their  power  over  Israel's 
God  in  the  sack  of  Jerusalem  by  Nebuchadnezzar  and  in 

»?'The  New  Century  Bible.'! 


148  THE  RELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

this  prolonged  captivity.    There  was  no  hint  of  liberation 
in  the  Chaldean  policy.    To  this  the  prophet  answered: 

(1)  The  gods  of  the  Chaldeans,  of  the  entire  non-Jewish 
world,  are  powerless  in  the  presence  of  the  one  true  God, 
Jehovah,  Read  40.  19-26 ;  46.  8-10  and  many  similar  ut- 
terances in  this  prophet's  oracles  for  his  repeated  and 
varied  affirmations  that  Jehovah  alone  is  Master  of  tlie 
nations.  Note  the  proof  offered  of  this  superiority  of 
Jehovah  in  41.  21-24.'  The  Chaldean  gods,  not  seeing  the 
approaching  fall  of  Babylon  at  the  hands  of  Cyrus,  have 
uttered  no  warning.  Jehovah  alone  sees  the  coming  doom 
of  the  Chaldean  Empire.  Let  the  Chaldean  gods  show 
their  might  by  their  foresight.  Their  very  silence  in  this 
crisis  proves  their  impotence.  Let  Israel  not  fear  them, 
but  trust  Jehovah  and  be  filled  with  courage  and  hope. 

(2)  The  Chaldean  Empire  is  doomed  (43.  14;  ^7.  1-15; 
49.  24-26),  The  nations  are  in  the  hand  of  Jehovah  (40. 
15). 

(3)  The  people,  deceived  hy  the  peace  and  prosperity  of 
the  Chaldean  Empire  under  Nahonidus,  did  not  conceive 
this  destruction  possible.  Our  prophet  points  to  the  ris- 
ing power  of  Persia  under  Cyrus  and  declares  that  he  is 
Jehovah's  anointed  to  break  the  power  of  Chaldea  and  to 
liberate  the  Jews  from  Babylon.  Read  41.  2,  3,  5 ;  44.  28 ; 
45.  1-6;  45.  13;  46.  11;  48.  14,  15.  State  what  is  said 
about  the  successes  of  Cyrus,  the  relation  of  his  victories 
to  Jehovah's  purposes,  his  attitude  to  the  exiled  Jews, 
and  his  services  in  their  behalf. 

(d)  Some  of  the  prophet's  auditors,  remembering  the 
teaching  of  other  prophets  that  the  Exile  was  their  pun- 
ishment  for  sin,  must  have  pointed  out  that  they  dared 
not  hope  for  such  high  favor  from  Jehovah.  Read  40.  2; 
43.  22-28;  44.  21,  22;  54.  1-10  for  the  prophet's  answer. 
Does  he  palliate  his  nation's  sins?  Does  he  preach  that 
the  Exile  has  been  a  punishment  for  sin?  Does  he  think 
that  Jehovah  is  indifferent  to  sin?  Why,  then,  does  he 
assure  his  countrymen  of  liberation  ? 

(e)  The  future  state.— Redidi  42.  6-8;  43.  3-8;  44.  5, 
26-28;  45.  13,  14;  49.  22,  23;  54.  11-14;  55.  5.    What  is 


TWO  NAMELESS  KINGDOM  BUILDERS     149 

the  future  mission  of  Israel?  What  is  to  be  the  nation's 
attitude  to  the  Gentiles?  Does  the  author  expect  a  com- 
plete restoration  of  Jews  to  Palestine?  What  details  are 
given  of  the  expected  life  in  Palestine? 

In  turning  from  the  prophet  of  the  servant  passages  to 
Deutero-Isaiah  one  feels  that  he  has  dropped  from  the 
heights.  Yet  somehow,  in  this  practical  world,  an  ideal  if 
too  splendid  does  not  grip  mankind.  It  takes  the  ideal 
to  move  the  actual,  but  it  is  usually  the  modified  dream 
of  a  great  thinker  which  a  statesman  undertakes  to  write 
into  laws  and  embody  in  institutions.  The  Second  Isaiah 
was  no  mere  drudge.  He  too  was  moved  by  glittering 
visions  of  the  ought-to-be.  But  he  realized  clearly  that 
scattered  exiles  must  be  gathered  again  into  a  state  in 
order  that  Jehovah  religion  should  continue  in  the  world. 
He  too  regarded  Israel  as  the  servant  of  Jehovah,  but  the 
mission  was  in  Palestine  and  not  among  the  nations.  It 
required  a  state,  and  not  a  church,  at  this  period  of  civil- 
ization to  carry  forward  the  torch  of  religious  progress. 
The  man  who  can  put  foundations  under  his  air  castles 
is  ever  needed  by  the  world. 

Summary 

In  these  two  nameless  prophets  of  the  Exile  we  have  two 
widely  divergent  views  of  Israel's  future.  The  author  of 
the  servant  songs  does  not  emphasize  a  return  to  Pales- 
tine. It  is  not  there  that  Israel  is  to  fulfill  her  mission. 
It  is  not  as  a  state  but  as  a  missionary  that  the  Jewish 
people  henceforth  are  to  follow  their  destiny.  Her  suffer- 
ings no  longer  are  penal  but  vicarious.  By  patience, 
faith  in  Jehovah,  loyal  acceptance  of  his  will,  and  un- 
wearied proclamation  of  his  righteousness,  the  exiles  are 
to  win  the  heathen  world  to  him.  For  this  purpose  the 
nation  has  died  and  in  the  undertaking  of  this  universal 
evangelism  the  nation  will  rise  again  into  a  new  and  un- 
dreamed glory. 

The  second  prophet  puts  this  high  and  difficult  mission 
aside.  Israel  is  to  go  back  to  Palestine.  This  marvelous 
deliverance  of  his  people  from  the  apparently  certain  de- 


150  THE  EELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

struction  in  a  foreign  land  will  draw  the  attention  of  the 
nations  to  Jehovah's  grandeur,  wisdom,  and  sovereignty. 
Nations  that  Israel  has  never  known  will  come  submis- 
sively to  Jerusalem  to  leam  the  ordinances  of  Israel's 
God. 

Foe  the  Quiet  Hour 

What  a  hollow  thing  is  fame  beside  the  rendering  of 
great  service !  The  author  of  the  noblest  utterance  of  the 
non-Christian  world  is  unknown.  His  message  of  evan- 
gelism made  little  appeal  to  his  dejected  fellow  exiles. 
His  soul  was  too  big  for  them.  The  light  that  gleamed  so 
gloriously  in  him  was  too  distant  a  star  to  light  him  into 
earthly  immortality.  His  name,  uncherished  of  men,  is 
hid  with  God. 

Must  not  every  great  religious  experience  seek  to  utter  its 
message  to  others?  Can  genuine  religion  be  other  than 
missionary  and  evangelistic?  You  can  measure  your  re- 
ligion not  by  your  honesty,  church  attendance,  or  the  cor- 
rectness of  your  creed,  but  by  your  passion  to  infuse  the 
spirit  of  your  knowledge  of  God  into  individuals  and  in- 
stitutions far  and  near. 

Do  you  realize  the  far  vicariousness  of  human  life  ?  Are 
you  an  employer  of  labor?  Do  you  recognize  how  much 
of  your  success  is  due  to  the  men  who  work  for  you  ?  Do 
you  give  them  a  just  share  of  the  profit  of  your  common 
toil?  You  who  are  employees,  do  you  bear  in  mind  that 
your  employers  have  taken  from  you  some  of  the  bur- 
dens that  you  otherwise  would  carry?  Life  everywhere 
is  an  intricately  woven  web.  Let  us  try  not  to  harden 
ourselves  against  others  but  to  understand  how  much  we 
must  bear  one  another's  burdens  in  an  ideal  civilization. 

Ideals,  unless  they  are  embodied  in  deeds  and  insti- 
tutions, are  no  more  than  dreams  which  mock  us  in  our 
sleep.  Deutero-Isaiah,  although  he  missed  the  fine  lift 
of  soul  of  this  earlier  seer,  realized  that  the  state  is  essen- 
tial to  an  ordered  civilization.  He  set  himself  to  create 
out  of  his  despondent  countrymen  a  new  social  order  to 
be  realized  in  Palestine.     His  passion  ever  must  be  our 


TWO  NAMELESS  KINGDOM  BUILDERS     151 

teacher.  Do  not  suppose  that  your  prayer  for  righteous- 
ness will  avail  unless  you  set  yourself  like  flint  against 
evil.  Be  a  dreamer  but  be  a  lighter  too.  Smash  the  saloon, 
strike  militarism  till  it  dies,  cry  out  against  our  present 
social  order  of  economic  injustice  until  ruthless  competi- 
tion and  unjust  division  of  the  profits  of  toil  are  replaced 
by  Christian  brotherhood;  count  greed  a  snake  and  scotch 
it  pitilessly;  push  civic  cutthroats  to  the  wall;  give  woman 
the  suffrage  and  rescue  her  from  the  brute  passions  of 
lust.  Be  a  builder  of  the  ideal  state.  Take  great  views  of 
God  and  help  to  regenerate  the  world. 

Questions  for  Discussion 

1.  Consider  briefly  the  mission  of  the  great  prophets.  To 
what  extent  were  they  interested  in  tar-ofl  events?  In  gen- 
eral, when  they  discussed  the  future,  what  motive  led  them 
to  forecast  the  course  of  events?  What  events  did  they  pre- 
dict? To  what  extent  were  their  predictions  fulfilled?  What 
was  the  great  motive  that  impelled  them  in  their  ministry? 

2.  What  political  events  suggested  to  the  author  of  the 
servant  passages  the  need  of  such  sermons?  Whom  was  this 
prophet  seeking  to  serve  by  these  messages? 

3.  Who  is  the  servant  of  Jehovah?  What  new  conception 
of  religion  is  here  proclaimed? 

4.  What  influence  had  this  idea  upon  the  world's  religious 
life? 

5.  What  contribution  does  this  author  make  to  the  problem 
of  human  suffering? 

6.  State  the  various  arguments  offered  by  the  Deutero-Isaiah 
to  overcome  the  despondency  of  the  Babylonian  exiles. 

References  for  Additional  Study 

History,  Prophecy,  and  the  Monuments,  McCurdy,  Volume 
III.  Book  XI,  Chapter  VI. 

Isaiah,  Smith,  Volume  II,  "Expositor's  Bible,"  Chapters  XVI, 
XVIII-XX. 

History  of  Religions,  Moore,  Volume  II,  page  29f. 

Isaiah  and  His  Times,  Driver,  pages  175-84. 


CHAPTER  XV 

TASKS  AND  HOPES  OF  THE  EETURNING 
EXILES 

Babylon"  fell  into  the  hands  of  Cyrus  in  538  B.  C.  His 
first  acts  did  not  disappoint  the  hopes  of  the  Deutero- 
Isaiah.  In  the  British  Museum  there  is  a  baked-clay  cylin- 
der inscribed  with  an  account  of  the  capture  of  Babylon 
by  Cyrus.  The  account  states  that  Marduk,  the  god  of 
Babylon,  "furiously  angry^'  at  Nabonidus,  the  Chaldean 
king,  searched  through  all  lands  for  a  righteous  prince 
unto  whom  he  might  deliver  Babylon.  His  choice  fell 
upon  Cyrus.  Together  they  marched  to  Babylon,  and 
Marduk  delivered  the  city  into  the  hands  of  Cyrus  without 
a  blow.  The  first  act  of  the  new  king  was  to  send  the  gods 
whom  Nabonidus  had  gathered  out  of  the  cities  of  his 
empire  back  to  their  respective  dwelling  places.  This 
act  of  his,  recorded  in  the  Baylonian  annals,  witnesses  to 
his  general  purpose  to  promote  the  local  religious  interests 
of  his  realm.  Cyrus  also  reversed  the  Assyrian-Baby- 
lonian policy  of  transplanting  conquered  peoples  and  per- 
mitted those  who  wished  to  return  home  to  go  back  to 
their  former  habitations. 

It  is  a  debatable  question  what  numbers  of  the  exiles 
set  out  from  Babylonia  to  rebuild  the  city  of  their  fathers 
at  Jerusalem.  Undoubtedly  such  as  wished  to  return  were 
free  to  depart.  The  first  generation  of  exiles  had  passed 
away.  The  second  generation  knew  no  other  home  than 
the  fertile  fields  and  magnificent  cities  of  their  conquerors. 
Without  question  the  exilic  population  had  increased  under 
these  favorable  conditions  of  life.  Not  even  the  splendid 
enthusiasm  of  the  Second  Isaiah  was  able  to  inspire  a 
large  company  to  forsake  the  easier  conditions  of  life  to 
undertake  the  difficult  mission  of  rebuilding  the  city  and 
reestablishing  their  ancient  religion  among  the  bare  moun- 

152 


TASKS  OF  THE  EETURNING  EXILES      153 

tains  so  dear  to  their  fathers.  But  some  responded  with 
courageous  zeal  to  the  appeal  to  turn  again  to  Palestine. 
This  chapter  traces  the  events  of  the  first  years  of  the 
returning  exiles. 

The  First  Return  of  Exiles  From  Babylonia 

Cyrus  and  the  Exiles. — Deutero-Isaiah's  expectation  that 
Cyrus  would  give  the  captive  Jews  the  opportunity  to  re- 
turn to  Jerusalem  was  fulfilled.  Not  only  were  they  given 
permission  to  go  back  to  Palestine,  but  Cyrus  gave  orders, 
also,  that  their  Temple  at  Jerusalem  should  be  rebuilt. 
He  dispatched  Sheshbazzar,  one  of  his  officers,  to  escort 
the  returning  exiles  and  to  supervise  the  settlement  at 
Jerusalem.  Read  the  first  chapter  of  Ezra.  Cyrus  issued 
his  decree  in  538  B.  C. 

Among  the  apocryphal  books  of  the  Old  Testament  is 
1  Esdras,  or,  as  it  is  sometimes  called,  the  third  book  of 
Ezra.  With  some  variations  this  book  parallels  our  bibli- 
cal Ezra.  It  is  not  improbable  that  1  Esdras  5.  1-6  pre- 
serves a  fragment  of  a  Jewish  account  of  the  journey  to 
Jerusalem;  1  Esdras  5.  1,  2  reads: 

"After  this  were  the  chiefs  of  fathers'  houses  chosen  to 
go  up  according  to  their  tribes,  with  their  wives  and  sons 
and  daughters,  with  their  manservants,  their  maidser- 
vants, and  their  cattle.  And  Cyrus  sent  with  them  a  thou- 
sand horsemen  till  they  had  brought  them  back  to  Jeru- 
salem safely,  and  with  musical  instruments,  tabrets  and 
flutes." 

This  is  a  likely  description.  Cyrus  would  wish  them 
securely  settled  in  their  own  land,  and  the  return  itself 
awakened  lively  hopes  in  those  who  made  the  venture,  and 
the  tedium  of  the  journey  may  well  have  been  relieved 
by  abundance  of  music.  See  also  Ezra  2.  65  for  a  refer- 
ence to  professional  musicians. 

Character  and  Number  of  the  Repatriated. — Ezra  2 
lists  the  people  who  came  back  to  Jerusalem  in  537.  A 
great  deal  of  controversy  has  been  raised  over  the  num- 
bers, and  there  have  been  attempts  to  adjust  the  discrep- 
ancy in  the  accounts  as  given  in  Ezra  2;  Nehemiah  7.  6- 


154  THE  EELIGIOX  OF  JUDAH 

73 ;  and  1  Esdras  5.  7-45.  The  number  of  those  returned 
probably  was  fewer  than  the  figures  given  by  Ezra  2.  Ob- 
serve, however,  the  various  persons  here  listed :  the  leaders 
(Ezra  2.  2),  the  laymen  (2.  3-35),  Temple  officials  (2.  36, 
37),  and  those  of  doubtful  Jewish  descent  (2.  59-63). 
Among  the  leaders  Zerubbabel  and  Jeshua  (Joshua;  Haggai 
1.  1)  were  chief.  In  the  list  of  returning  exiles  Temple  offi- 
cials take  a  leading  place.  Examine  Ezra  2.  36-62.  Here 
are  named  priests,  Levites,  singers,  porters,  and  Nethinim. 
The  distinction  between  priest  and  Levite  is  interesting 
and  important.  Students  of  earlier  lessons  in  this  course 
will  recall  that  in  the  time  of  the  judges  and  under  the 
monarchy  sacrifices  customarily  were  performed  by  the  head 
of  the  family.  As  the  sanctuaries  became  more  elaborate, 
caretakers  were  needed,  who  in  time  took  over  the  offering 
of  sacrifice.  The  office  eventually  became  hereditary,  and 
a  fictitious  ancestor,  Levi,  was  provided  for  them,  and 
priests  were  called  Levites.  See  Judges  17.  6-13. 
''^Levite'^  here  means  simply  one  who  was  trained  in  the 
manipulation  of  the  oracle.  The  man  in  question  be- 
longed to  the  tribe  of  Judah.  At  this  period  the  Levite 
apparently  does  not  offer  the  sacrifice.  ]Micah  as  head  of 
the  household  continues  this  function.  Deuteronomy  18. 
1,  which  expresses  the  situation  in  the  seventh  century, 
calls  all  priests  "Levites."  By  this  time  the  Levites,  or 
priests,  had  charge  of  the  sacrifices.  Josiah's  reform  in 
621  B.  C.  attempted  to  bring  all  the  country  Levites  to 
Jerusalem  and  put  them  on  the  same  footing  with  the 
Temple  Levites.  For  some  reason  this  was  not  accom- 
plished. See  Deuteronomy  18.  6-8  for  the  purpose  of  the 
reformers  and  2  Kings  23.  8,  9  for  the  failure  to  place  the 
country  Levites  on  an  equality  with  their  city  brethren. 
The  first  distinction  between  priests  and  Levites  is  made 
by  Ezekiel.  See  Ezekiel  44.  10-16.  Here  the  priests  are 
still  called  Levites.  But  the  Levites  of  Jerusalem,  the 
descendants  of  Zadok,  who  championed  Solomon's  candi- 
dacy for  the  throne  (1  Kings  1.  38,  39),  alone  are  re- 
garded true  priests  by  Ezekiel  and  in  his  plan  of  restored 
Temple  worship  are  to  have  the  right  of  offering  sacrifice. 


TASKS  OF  THE  RETURNING  EXILES      155 

The  country  Levites  are  made  menials  of  the  Temple. 
EzekieFs  reason  for  this  distinction  is  not  historically 
true.  The  reader  will  recall  that  country  and  city  sanctu- 
aries alike  practiced  the  worship  that  Ezekiel  here  con- 
demns. By  the  end  of  the  Exile  this  inferiority  of  the 
Levites  was  established,  and,  consequently,  there  was  great 
reluctance  among  them  to  return  to  Jerusalem,  where  the 
subordination  would  receive  greater  emphasis. 

This  is  the  earliest  mention  of  a  professional  class  of 
singers  in  Jewish  worship.  It  is  not  probable  that  any 
such  class  of  persons  existed  before  the  Exile.  It  was  dur- 
ing the  Exile  that  the  practice  arose  of  employing  mu- 
sicians in  worship.  Their  task  at  the  period  of  the  re- 
building of  the  Temple  was  to  conduct  the  music  of  the 
Temple  services.  The  porters,  or  doorkeepers,  were  to  be 
placed  in  charge  of  the  entrances  to  the  Temple.  They 
probably  were  caretakers  as  well  as  keepers  of  the  en- 
trances. All  the  earlier  sanctuaries  must  have  had  their 
guardians.  The  position  was  a  humble  one.  This  is  evi- 
denced by  the  Psalmist,  who  exclaimed: 

"I  had  rather  be  a  doorkeeper  in  the  house  of  my  God, 
Than  to  dwell  in  the  tents  of  wickedness'^  (Psalms  84. 
10). 

The  Nethinim  were  the  lowest  in  rank  of  all  the  minis- 
trants  at  the  Temple.  Little  is  known  about  them.  It 
has  been  conjectured  that  they  were  slaves  and  probably 
foreigners.  Temple  slaves  were  a  common  feature  of 
Babylonian  life.     Later  they  disappear  from  Jewish  life. 

The  Work  of  Zerubbabel  and  Joshua 

Read  the  third  chapter  of  Ezra.  On  reaching  Pales- 
tine the  people  seemed  to  have  settled  in  Jerusalem  and 
the  surrounding  towns  (Ezra  2.  70;  3.  1).  What  was 
the  first  public  act  of  the  returned  exiles?  Who  were  the 
leaders  in  this  work?  Which  of  the  two  is  regarded  the 
more  important  ?  See  also  Haggai  1.  1.  In  the  light  of 
past  chapters  what  written  law  of  Moses  was  in  the  pos- 
session of  these  altar  builders?     Ezra  3.  3  is  a  corrupt 


156  THE  EELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

text.  Batten  proposes  heroically  to  substitute  a  variant 
reading  of  1  Esdras  5.  60,  as  follows:  "And  they  erected 
the  altar  upon  its  own  place"  (that  is,  where  it  had  stood 
in  the  court  of  Solomon's  Temple) ;  "and  there  were 
gathered  unto  them  some  from  other  nations  of  the  land, 
and  they  were  well  disposed  toward  the  altar,  and  they 
aided  them,  and  they  offered  sacrifices  at  the  proper  sea- 
son aud  burnt  offerings  to  Jehovah  night  and  morning/'^ 
This  situation  of  good  will  of  the  mixed  residents  of  Pales- 
tine toward  the  efforts  of  the  Jewish  community  is  not 
improbable.  Observe  carefully  the  reestablishment  of  the 
various  religious  festivals  of  Israel's  earliest  life  in  Pales- 
tine. The  daily  sacrifices  are  now  more  elaborate  than 
formerly.    See  2  Kings  16.  15. 

After  establishing  the  sacrificial  ritual  what  was  the 
community's  next  concern?  What  preparations  were 
made  ?  To  what  extent  were  the  measures  for  rebuilding 
the  Temple  carried  out?  What  inference  may  be  drawn 
as  to  the  extent  of  the  destruction  of  the  city  in  586  B.  C. 
and  the  desolation  of  the  intervening  years?  How  much 
time  had  elapsed  since  the  destruction  of  the  Temple  until 
the  foundations  were  now  laid?  Eead  Ezra  4.  1-5  and 
state  the  obstacles  that  now  arose  to  prevent  the  comple- 
tion of  the  Temple.  What  insight  is  here  given  into  the 
religion  of  Palestine  during  the  past  half  century?  Who 
are  these  people  whose  help  was  declined  ?  The  rebuilding 
of  the  Temple,  begun  so  joyously  in  536  B.  C,  now  dragged 
along  until  520  B.  C.  (A  great  deal  of  confusion  runs 
through  this  whole  period  from  the  return  to  the  days  of 
Ezra  and  Nehemiah,  and  the  course  of  events  here  fol- 
lowed is  not  free  from  objection.)  Cyrus  died  in  529. 
Cambyses,  the  son  of  Cyrus,  was  a  profligate  despot,  guilty 
of  many  atrocious  deeds;  and,  therefore,  his  interest  in 
Jewish  Temple  building  was  little  indeed.  It  was  xiot 
until  Darius  Hystaspis  came  to  the  throne  of  the  Persian 
Empire  that  Jewish  hopes  again  revived.  At  the  accession 
of  Darius,  521  B.  C,  the  Persian  Empire  was  threatened 


*  "International  Critical  Commentary,"  page  109. 


TASKS  OF  THE  RETURNING  EXILES      157 

with  dissolution.  Various  provinces  nearly  succeeded  in 
setting  up  independent  kingdoms.  It  was  under  such 
circumstances,  which  seemed  to  fulfill  the  Messianic  pre- 
dictions of  Ezekiel  (chapters  25  to  32),  that  Haggai  and 
Zechariah,  prophets  of  the  Jewish  community  in  Palestine, 
aroused  their  countrymen  to  undertake  with  new  zeal  the 
rebuilding  of  the  Temple. 

The  Mission  op  Haggai 

Read  Ezra  5.  1,  2.  To  whose  inspiring  leadership  was 
the  new  effort  to  complete  the  Temple  due  ?  This  was  in 
520  B.  C.  Who  are  now  in  charge  of  the  Jewish  com- 
munity? Read  Haggai  1.  What  position  is  now  held  by 
Zerubbabel?  Zerubbabel  was  the  grandson  of  Jehoiachin 
and  was  therefore  a  prince  of  the  house  of  David.  It  is 
not  known  when  he  was  made  governor.  What  was  Hag- 
gai's  position  in  the  community?  Observe  the  words  by 
which  the  people  excuse  their  failure  to  complete  the  Tem- 
ple. Verse  2  should  run:  ''This  people  say,  'The  time 
has  not  come  for  Jehovah's  house  to  be  huiltf  **  What 
led  the  people  to  this  conclusion  ?  What  was  Haggai's  re- 
tort? What  insight  is  given  into  the  economic  conditions 
of  the  past  sixteen  years?  What  is  Haggai's  explanation 
of  this  poverty?  Did  the  people  acquiesce  in  his  inter- 
pretation of  their  wretched  condition?  What  motive  in- 
duced Zerubbabel  and  his  countrymen  to  undertake  anew 
the  work  of  rebuilding? 

Read  Haggai  2.  1-9.  A  month  or  two  of  building  re- 
vealed the  magnitude  of  the  task  and  the  slenderness  of 
their  resources.  Solomon's  Temple,  destroyed  sixty-six 
years  previously,  was  remembered  by  a  few  of  the  oldest 
members  of  the  community,  and  the  new  building  seemed 
to  be  nothing  in  comparison.  The  workers  were  dis- 
heartened. What  is  Haggai's  message  at  this  state  of 
affairs  ?  In  what  way  will  the  glory  of  the  second  Temple 
surpass  the  first?  Read  2.  10-19.  This  sermon  was  deliv- 
ered a  few  weeks  after  the  previous  discourse.  Again  dis- 
couragement was  hindering  the  work  on  the  Temple.  What 


158  THE  RELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

was  the  source  of  this  depression?  In  the  previous  dis- 
course Haggai  declared  that  if  the  people  would  be  strong 
and  labor  diligently,  Jehovah  would  be  with  them.  He 
promised  also  abundance  of  wealth  to  enrich  and  adorn 
the  Temple.  In  1.  9-11  what  is  the  evidence  which 
Haggai  offers  of  Jehovah's  favor?  If  no  change  occurred 
in  the  material  conditions  of  the  community  since  the 
Temple  began  to  be  rebuilt  in  520,  would  this  continued 
lack  of  prosperity  discourage  the  builders?  Note  the  ar- 
gument of  Haggai  to  encourage  his  countrymen:  "Your 
own  negligence  and  coldness  in  the  past,  like  contact  with 
a  corpse,  has  rendered  your  sacrifices  objectionable  to  Je- 
hovah. His  displeasure  has  been  shown  in  shortage  of 
field  and  vineyard.  But  now  that  you  have  undertaken 
the  work  of  rebuilding  in  earnest  you  may  expect  his  favor. 
But  since  you  have  but  sown  your  seed,  and  the  grape,  fig, 
pomegranate,  and  olive  are  yet  far  from  fruitage,  you  can- 
not expect  an  immediate  evidence  of  Jehovah's  favorable 
disposition  toward  you.  But  from  this  day  forward  you 
may  count  upon  his  good  will  and  blessing." 

Haggai  closes  his  prophetic  ministry  with  a  prediction 
of  the  Messianic  era.  Darius,  who  followed  Cambyses 
on  the  throne  of  the  Persian  Empire,  was  embarrassed  for 
a  time  by  a  series  of  revolts  in  various  parts  of  his  domin- 
ion. It  appeared  for  a  time  that  the  Persian  Empire  would 
break  into  pieces.  This  political  situation  encouraged 
Haggai  to  believe  that  the  Messianic  age  frequently  pre- 
dicted was  to  be  ushered  in.  Eead  2.  20-23.  Here  it  is 
said  that  Jehovah  is  shaking  heaven  and  earth  and  over- 
throwing the  nations.  "In  that  day  .  .  .  will  I  take  thee, 
0  Zerubbabel,  my  servant,  and  will  make  thee  as  a  signet ; 
for  1  have  chosen  thee."  In  this  veiled  language  Haggai 
announces  to  Zerubbabel,  the  governor  of  Judah,  that 
Jehovah  is  about  to  inaugurate  the  Messianic  age  and  will 
install  him  as  its  Messianic  king.  Here,  as  in  the  ma- 
jority of  Jewish  Messianic  programs,  the  people  are  to  do 
nothing  to  achieve  their  own  hopes.  No  social  struggle 
toward  the  better  day  is  demanded.  Jehovah  of  hosts 
will  accomplish  everything.    The  absence  of  an  evangelis- 


TASKS  OP  THE  RETURNING  EXILES      159 

tic  or  missionary  spirit  in  the  attitude  of  Haggai  toward 
the  Gentiles  is  to  be  noted. 

Other  Religious  Ideas  of  the  Period 

The  sacred  lot. — Examine  Ezra  2.  62,  63.  As  long  as 
there  was  no  direct  evidence  of  the  validity  of  certain 
priestly  claims,  an  appeal  was  to  be  made  to  Urim  and 
Thummim.  Apparently  at  the  earliest  period  of  the  return 
there  was  no  one  of  the  priests  regarded  as  superior  in 
rank  to  the  others.  The  high  priesthood  became  gradu- 
ally a  recognized  office  in  Israel.  Undoubtedly  through 
the  eighth  and  seventh  centuries  prophetism  discounted 
the  appeal  to  the  sacred  lot.  With  no  strong  prophetic 
leadership  in  the  restored  community  the  older  practice 
of  ascertaining  the  Deity's  will  assumed  new  importance. 

Jurists. — The  priests  are  the  custodians  and  the  inter- 
preters of  the  law.  See  Haggai  2.  12.  This  was  an  old 
function,  but  with  the  development  of  fuller  codes  the 
priests  more  and  more  became  the  teachers  of  the  com- 
munity. 

Holiness  and  uncleanness. — Read  Haggai  2.  12,  13. 
Note  the  meaning  here  of  "holiness.'^  Holy  flesh  is  flesh 
that  has  been  prepared  for  sacrifice  upon  the  altar  of  Je- 
hovah. It  is  holy  because  it  has  been  devoted  to  the  service 
of  the  Deity.  As  we  shall  see  in  later  chapters,  these  holy 
objects  transmit  their  holiness  to  other  objects  by  contact. 
It  is  probable  that  the  one  who  carries  the  flesh  in  his 
skirt  is  a  priest.  In  that  case  the  garment  is  holy.  But 
the  holiness  of  the  garment,  getting  its  sanctity  from  the 
sacred  flesh,  is  less  holy  than  the  meat  for  sacrifice.  The 
holiness  is  weakened  in  transmission.  This  holiness  of 
the  skirt  is  so  much  less  that  it  is  not  able  to  infect  any 
object  which  it  touches.  A  corpse,  like  sacrificial  flesh,  is 
taboo,  and  for  the  same  reason.  Both  alike  are  dangerous. 
One  must  not  offend  the  Deity  by  any  commonness  of 
treatment  of  anything  which  belongs  to  him;  nor  must 
one  treat  carelessly  the  spirit  of  the  dead,  which  is  be- 
lieved among  primitive  peoples  to  hover  near  the  body  until 
dissolution  of  the  flesh  takes  place.    Hence,  among  primi- 


IGO  THE  RELIGION  OF  JUDAII 

tive  people  there  is  no  distinction  between  holiness  and 
uncleanness.  Both  are  an  expression  of  the  fear  that  the 
spirit,  whether  of  man  or  deity,  oifended  by  lack  of  re- 
spect, will  revenge  himself  upon  the  thoughtless  or  the 
daring.  Holiness  and  uncleanness  alike  are  dangerous 
properties  of  persons  and  things  which  can  be  passed  on 
by  contact.  Holiness  in  time  came  to  have  an  ethical 
meaning  and  then  found  an  enduring  place  in  the  termin- 
ology and  ideals  of  religion. 

Timeless  Truths 

Think  of  the  vast  community  of  interests  in  which  the 
affairs  of  any  people  are  involved.  A  Median  prince's 
ambition  to  rule  the  world  unbarred  the  world's  first 
ghetto  and  made  possible  the  resurrection  of  Jewish  re- 
ligion. No  nation  lives  unto  itself.  Patriotism  is  the  im- 
mediate enemy  of  universal  brotherhood.  When  any  coun- 
try's nationalism  overrides  its  sense  of  loyalty  to  civiliza- 
tion, that  nation  becomes  a  menace  to  mankind.  For  the 
thoughtful  man  the  world  has  become  a  neighborhood. 
The  quarrels  of  Europe,  the  mastery  of  the  Far  East,  the 
lift  of  superstition  from  uncivilized  Africans,  the  spiritual 
sterility  of  the  Mohammedan  world,  are  problems  as  near 
the  citizen  as  the  unsanitary  stench  of  the  alleys  in  his  city 
or  civic  corruption  in  his  town  government.  Our  world 
has  become  a  universe,  and  a  true  man  possesses  a  uni- 
versal mind.  The  joys  and  the  sorrows,  the  successes  and 
failures,  of  all  peoples  are  his  concern. 

This  postexilic  community  exhibits  the  barrenness  of  a 
society  that  possesses  no  prophets.  The  chief  power  of  a 
prophet  is  his  clear,  ethical  vision.  Beside  righteousness 
the  remainder  of  man's  achievements  shrinks  to  nothing- 
ness. Such  men  have  a  program.  Progress  is  an  open 
road.  They  possess  a  sense  of  sureness  which  crowns  them 
with  leadership.  As  long  as  we  seek  God's  will  wholly 
in  the  writings  of  the  past,  as  did  these  returned  exiles, 
there  will  come  no  aggressive  leadership  among  us.  In 
order  that  we  may  advance  his  kingdom,  God  ever  must 
seem  to  us  expectant  to  reveal  to  us  his  new  purposes.    The 


TASKS  OF  THE  RETURNING  EXILES      161 

voices  that  guide  us  must  not  call  to  us  out  of  the  past; 
they  must  flash  their  summons  upon  us  out  of  radiant 
dawns.  The  past  is  dead ;  the  future  alone  is  alive.  Civil- 
ization still  wears  its  swaddling  clothes.  The  universe  is 
young  and  undiscovered  and  summons  us  to  put  forth  our 
spiritual  caravels  from  ancient  ports  and  steer  boldly  into 
the  unknown. 

It  is  a  weakness  of  religion  that  it  clings  to  material  evi- 
dences of  its  validity.  The  returned  exiles  were  dismayed 
by  poor  harvests.  Even  Haggai  could  offer  no  other  evi- 
dences of  Jehovah's  good  will  than  full  granaries  and  over- 
flowing wine  vats.  The  Temple  could  not  help  but  be  long 
building  and  would  not  be  permanently  significant  in  such 
a  circle  of  ideas.  Examine  your  own  ideas  of  what  are  the 
marks  of  your  heavenly  Father's  good  will.  Does  this  evi- 
dence of  favor  consist  in  a  full  purse,  a  splendid  position, 
a  growing  business,  or  a  robust  health?  Then  you  belong 
to  the  life  of  those  far-off  centuries.  Measured  by  such  a 
test,  Pilate  was  dearer  to  God  than  Christ,  Nero  more  re- 
ligious than  Paul,  Cesare  Borgia  a  greater  saint  than  Savon- 
arola, and  Tetzel  a  greater  kingdom  builder  than  Luther. 
It  is  not  health  of  body  but  wholesomeness  of  soul,  not 
riches  in  the  bank  but  wealth  of  moral  convictions,  not 
the  flattering  attention  of  the  press  but  that  likeness  of 
soul  which  fits  one  to  care  for  Christ,  which  are  the  supreme 
marks  of  God's  gracious  relation  to  man. 

Guides  to  the  Mastery  of  the  Lesson 

1.  What  conditions  in  Babylonia  made  possible  the  return 
of  Jewish  exiles  to  Palestine? 

2.  What  motives  induced  some  of  these  exiles  to  return  to 
Jerusalem?  What  reasons  persuaded  others  to  remain  in 
Babylonia?  When  did  the  return  take  place?  How  many 
made  the  journey  at  this  time?    Who  were  the  leaders? 

3.  How  many  priests  are  said  to  have  returned?  Levites? 
State  the  history  of  the  use  of  the  term  "Levite."  Why  did 
not  more  Levites  return  to  the  land  of  their  fathers? 

4.  What  political  organization  did  the  restored  community 
possess?  What  were  the  relations  of  the  returned  exiles  to 
the  inhabitants  of  Palestine?  What  is  known  of  these  older 
residents? 


162  THE  RELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

5.  What  is  Zerubbabel's  connection  with  the  new  Jewish 
state?  Why  did  Haggai  so  intimately  associate  him  with  the 
Messianic  kingdom? 

6.  Estimate  Haggai's  services.  What  resemblances  does  he 
present  to  older  prophets?    What  are  the  defects  of  his  ideas? 

7.  Why  do  the  priests  assume  such  importance  in  the  post- 
exilic  community?  The  sacrificial  conception  of  worship  is 
established  more  firmly  than  ever:  why  were  the  people  so 
little  influenced  by  the  prophetic  idea  of  religion? 

8.  Why  did  so  many  years  elapse  before  the  building  of  the 
Temple  was  completed?  What  is  the  accepted  evidence  of 
Jehovah's  favor?  What  is  the  defect  in  this  conception? 
What  was  Haggai's  contribution  to  ethical  religion?  What  Is 
his  conception  of  the  Messianic  kingdom? 

References  fob  Supplementary  Reading 

Jerusalem,  Smith,  Volume  II,  pages  291-304. 

Article  "Haggai,"  in  Dictionary  ofjhe  Bihle,  Hastings. 

The  Postexilic  Prophets,  Bennett,  pages  65-78. 


CHAPTER  XVI 
FROM  ZECHARIAH  TO  NEHEMIAH 

The  rebuilding  of  the  Temple,  begun  by  the  exiles  who 
returned  in  536  B.  C,  slackened  or  ceased  until  520,  when 
the  despondent  community,  stimulated  by  Haggai,  began  its 
task  with  new  devotion.  Zechariah,  whose  prophecies  were 
uttered  520-518,  brought  the  dejected  workers  new  inspira- 
tion. Encouraged  by  the  faith  of  these  two  prophets, 
Zerubbabel  and  Joshua  led  their  people  to  the  completion  of 
the  Temple  in  516  B.  C.  From  this  date  until  the  arrival 
of  Nehemiah  in  445  B.  C.  the  political  history  of  the  Jews 
is  obscure.  It  is  reasonably  certain,  however,  that  the  book 
of  Malachi  and  the  prophecies  found  in  Isaiah  56  to  6Q 
reflect  the  discouragements,  hopes,  and  beliefs  of  this 
period. 

The  Teaching  of  Zechariah. — Zechariah's  interest  is  in 
the  ^lessianic  kingdom.  Like  Haggai  he  believes  that  the 
rebuilding  of  the  Temple  is  the  first  essential  of  the  rise 
again  of  Jehovah's  rule  in  Palestine.  Jehovah's  residence, 
in  the  thought  of  Israel's  leaders,  was  not  fixed  again  in  the 
Temple,  but  the  Temple  was  the  one  acceptable  place  to 
meet  him  and  was  the  visible  manifestation  of  his  favor. 
To  rebuild  the  Temple,  therefore,  was  the  immediate  pre- 
lude of  the  Messianic  kingdom. 

The  Messianic  Kingdom.— faj  The  shaking  of  the  nd- 
tions. — Read  1.  7-21.  If  you  keep  in  mind  that  Ezekiel,  the 
Second  Isaiah,  and  Haggai  had  expected-  that  a  shaking 
of  the  nations  would  precede  the  advent  of  the  golden  age 
in  Israel,  the  meaning  of  Zechariah's  first  vision  becomes 
clear.  Two  or  three  months  previously  Haggai  had  sought 
to  encourage  the  Jewish  community  by  asserting  that  a 
shaking  up  of  the  nations  within  a  little  while  would  be  the 
hour  chosen  by  Jehovah  to  set  up  his  Messianic  rule.  But 
political   disturbances,   instead   of   increasing,   grew   less. 

163 


164  THE  RELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

Darius  succeeded  in  quelling  revolts  in  various  parts  of  his 
empire.  The  Jews,  who  had  come  to  expect  catastrophic 
disturbances  as  the  prelude  to  a  new  Jewish  age,  again 
became  downhearted.  Although  the  four  horsemen  who 
patrol  the  earth  report  that  the  nations  are  at  rest,  Zech- 
ariah  declares  that  Jehovah  is  none  the  less  displeased 
with  the  nations  and  exceedingly  jealous  for  the  pros- 
perity of  Jerusalem.  The  prophet  implies  that  the  shak- 
ing up  of  the  nations  is  not  abandoned  but  only  tempo- 
rarily delayed. 

(b)  The  Messianic  kingdom  is  founded  upon  righteous- 
ness. Read  1.  3-6.  Zechariah  reminds  his  countrymen 
that  the  word  of  the  prophets  who  declared  that  righteous- 
ness is  the  foundation  of  the  state  has  been  vindicated  by 
the  afi&ictions  that  have  fallen  upon  the  Jewish  people.  Zech- 
ariah does  not  charge  his  own  community  with  specific 
evils;  but  he  assures  his  hearers  that  ethical  holiness  and 
loyalty  to  Jehovah  are  essentials  to  his  favor. 

Read  3.  1-7.  The  filthy  garments  of  Joshua  symbolize 
the  defilement  of  the  sanctuary  and  the  priesthood  by  the 
heathen  during  the  exile.  The  people  themselves,  by  their 
contact  with  non-Jewish  worship  and  by  life  in  other  than 
Jehovah's  land,  likewise  liave  become  filthy.  The  filthy 
garments  of  the  high  priest  are  symbolical  of  this  iniquity 
and  they  must  be  stripped  from  him  to  make  him  accept- 
able to  Jehovah.  Joshua  is  assured  that  if  he  is  faithful 
to  Jehovah  and  carefully  maintains  the  services  of  the 
Temple  he  shall  be  placed  in  permanent  authority  over  the 
Temple  and  shall  be  the  representative  of  the  people  in 
dealing  with  Jehovah.  Read  5.  1-4.  This  vision  of  the 
flying  roll  is  Zechariah's  assurance  that  Jehovah  will  purge 
sinners — thieves  and  perjurers — from  the  Messianic  state. 

Read  chapter  7.  Here  the  true  spirit  of  prophecy  reap- 
pears. A  deputation  came  from  Bethel  to  Jerusalem  to  in- 
quire whether  certain  fasts  should  be  observed.  The  visit 
may  have  been  occasioned  by  a  threat  of  famine  or  by  some 
other  possible  misfortune.  We  do  not  know  what  the 
priests  of  Jerusalem  answered.  But  Zechariah  implies  that 
it  matters  little  to  Jehovah  whether  they  fast  or  not.  Fasts 


FEOM  ZECHARIAH  TO  NEHEMIAH        165 

and  sacrifices,  he  says,  were  observed  by  the  people  for 
themselves;  they  had  no  bearing  in  the  determination  of 
Jehovah's  purposes.  They  ought  to  have  known  better  than 
to  raise  such  an  inquiry.  Former  prophets  had  spoken 
clearly  enough.  They  had  repeatedly  taught  the  people 
that  Jehovah  does  not  ask  sacrifice.  He  requires  justice, 
kindness,  and  a  daily  effort  to  know  and  to  obey  his  will. 
He  asks  that  men  shall  show  compassion  to  their  unfor- 
tunate fellow  men.  The  weak  and  dependent  members  of 
the  community — the  widow,  the  orphan,  the  sojourner,  and 
the  poor — must  be  the  loving  care  of  those  placed  in  a  more 
stable  social  position.  It  is  such  spirit  and  action  which 
win  the  favor  of  Jehovah  and  guarantee  his  help  in  the  pro- 
motion of  the  peace  and  prosperity  of  the  state.  It  is  right- 
eousness rather  than  ritual  which  enlists  the  help  of  Je- 
hovah. It  is  to  be  noted  that,  according  to  Zechariah,  the 
Messianic  age  does  not  depend  on  Jehovah  alone ;  it  is  con- 
ditioned upon  the  energetic  practice  of  social  righteousness 
in  Israel. 

Eead  chapter  8.  The  prophet  here  adds  some  details  of 
the  manner  of  life  in  the  new  age.  Jehovah  takes  up  his 
residence  in  Jerusalem,  which  is  to  be  called  the  city  of 
truth.  Mount  Zion,  because  of  Jehovah's  residence,  will  be 
known  as  the  holy  mountain.  In  the  open  spaces  of  the 
city  men  and  women  of  advanced  age  shall  spend  their  last 
years  in  the  quiet  enjoyment  of  life,  and  the  streets  will  ring 
with  the  shouts  of  boys  and  girls  at  play.  In  2.  1-5  the 
prophet  adds  another  touch  to  his  portraiture  of  a  peaceful, 
prosperous  city.  In  8.  6-8  the  complete  restoration  of  the 
exiles  scattered  in  far  countries  is  promised.  Verses  12-15 
are  an  assurance  of  agricultural  prosperity  in  the  coming 
golden  days.  The  people  of  Jerusalem  and  Judah  must  not 
fear:  Jehovah  has  sufficiently  punished  his  people.  His 
purpose  now  is  to  do  good  to  his  people.  Verses  16  and  17 
require,  as  a  prerequisite  of  the  coming  and  the  continu- 
ance of  the  better  day,  that  the  people  shall  speak  the  truth, 
establish  justice  in  all  their  dealings,  and  refrain  from  every 
unworthy  thought  and  action  in  all  their  human  relation- 
ships. 


166  THE  EELIGIOi^  OF  JUDAH 

The  Messiah. — Examine  3.  8-10.  What  term  here  de- 
scribes the  Messianic  prince?  The  reference  undoubtedly 
is  to  Zerubbabel.  The  verb  translated  ^'I  will  bring  forth" 
indicates  an  act  taking  place  in  the  immediate  future.  Ob- 
serve (4.  4-14)  that  Zerubbabel,  although  the  sovereignty 
of  the  people  is  divided  with  Joshua,  is  the  leader  of  the 
community  and  in  charge  of  the  completion  of  the  Temple. 
See,  further,  6.  11.  The  text  here  has  been  altered.  One 
crown  was  to  be  made  and  it  was  to  be  placed  upon  the  head 
of  Zerubbabel.  This  is  clear  from  the  fact  that  *^the 
Branch"  is  to  build  the  Temple.  This  person,  as  we  have 
seen  already,  is  Zerubbabel.  In  verse  13,  instead  of  "and 
he  shall  be  a  priest  upon  his  throne,"  read  "and  Joshua  shall 
be  priest  upon  his  right  hand."  Thus,  the  new  state  will 
have  its  double  rulership :  Joshua  at  the  head  of  the  system 
of  worship,  and  Zerubbabel,  Jehovah's  prince,  to  enforce 
the  divine  government. 

(a)  Other  religious  ideas  of  Zecliariah. — Jehovah's  gov- 
ernment of  the  world:  Eead  again  1.  7-15.  Where  is 
Jehovah's  residence  ?  How  does  he  keep  in  touch  with  the 
world?  Observe  the  very  important  statement  in  verse 
15.  This  is  the  first  hint  in  Old-Testament  literature  that 
the  good  and  evil  in  men  and  nations  were  not  directly 
authorized  by  Jehovah.  Zechariah  asserts  that  the  nations 
that  chastised  Israel  exceeded  their  instructions.  Is  Je- 
hovah conceived  as  dwelling  so  far  above  the  human  world 
that  he  does  not  know  its  happenings  until  his  ministers 
inform  him?  Or  could  he  not  prevent  these  nations  in 
the  furtherance  of  their  ends?  Note  in  many  places  the 
use  of  angels  in  the  divine  administration.  What  condi- 
tions warranted  the  introduction  of  these  new  concep- 
tions ? 

Examine  3.  1-3  for  another  new  character.  Who  is  this 
Satan,  and  what  is  his  business?  What  conditions  made 
possible  this  addition  to  Jewish  religious  ideas? 

Observe  that  (in  Haggai  and  Zechariah)  Joshua  is 
named  continually  as  the  head  of  the  priestly  community. 
Zechariah  goes  further  and  lifts  the  chief  priest  into  the 
high  priesthood,  v/hich  plays  such  an  important  role  in 


FROM  ZECHARIAH  TO  NEHEMIAH        167 

later  Judaism.     See  3.  5,  8  for  additional  witness  of  the 
growing  importance  of  this  office. 

(b)  Zecharialis  fine  hopes  were  doomed  to  disappoint- 
ment. There  was  no  tumult  of  nations.  Darius  set  his 
empire  in  better  order,  and  his  provinces  were  ruled  in 
peace.  Zerubbabel  did  not  wear  his  crown,  and  there  is 
no  hint  anywhere  what  became  of  him.  The  Temple  was 
completed;  but  if  Jehovah  came  to  dwell  in  it,  there  was 
no  outward  golden  age  of  righteousness  or  material  splen- 
dor to  witness  to  his  presence.  For  the  next  half  century 
the  Jewish  community  struggled  on  bewildered  and  dis- 
heartened. There  is  no  record  in  Jewish  literature  of  this 
period.  (It  is  possible  that  Ezra  4.  6  is  an  authentic  his- 
torical note.  This  states  that  at  the  beginning  of  the  reign 
of  Ahasuerus — that  is,  Xerxes,  486-465 — somebody  accused 
by  letter  the  people  of  Judah  and  Jerusalem  before  the 
Persian  emperor.)  But  there  ever  must  have  been  a  faith- 
ful band  to  keep  hope  alive.  Somewhere  in  the  earlier 
half  of  the  fifth  century,  475-458,  there  appeared  another 
prophetic  voice  in  the  silence  and  the  darkness  to  witness 
to  the  ideals  of  true  religion. 

Malachi 

Malachi  means  "my  messenger,'^  and  the  word,  there- 
fore, may  not  be  the  name  of  the  writer  and  speaker  of  the 
messages  of  this  book. 

Social  Disturbances. — There  are  at  least  three  leading 
evils  that  vitiate  the  religious  life  of  Israel  in  Malachi's 
day,  which  Jehovah  will  visit  in  judgment: 

(a)  The  community  has  grown  careless  and  indifferent 
to  the  Temple  worship.  For  Malachi,  as  for  Haggai  and 
Zechariah,  the  Temple  is  the  center  of  the  nation's  life. 
Like  theirs,  his  interests  are  greater  than  the  worship  at 
the  Temple,  but  he  recognizes  its  exceeding  importance 
in  these  troublesome  times.  Read  1.  6-12  and  note  that 
religion  is  not  a  dominant  interest  in  the  community.  Of 
what  does  Malachi  accuse  the  priests?  In  what  way  does 
he  justify  his  accusation  ?  Observe  his  fine  perception 
that  heathen  worship  really  is  offered  to  Jehovah;  and 


168  THE  EELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

that,  because  pagan  peoples  offer  their  worship  sincerely 
and  devotedly,  although  they  suppose  it  is  rendered  to 
their  pagan  gods,  Jehovah  receives  it  more  favorably  than 
he  does  the  half-hearted,  disloyal  worship  of  Jerusalem. 
The  people  equally  were  remiss.  Of  what  are  they  accused 
in  1.  13,  14?  What  other  neglect  of  worship  is  denounced 
in  3.  8,  9? 

(h)  But  this  is  not  all:  The  old  preexilic  social  distinc- 
tions are  reappearing,  and  the  common  weal  is  disregarded 
by  the  strong:  (1)  Observe  the  priestly  duties  out- 
lined in  2.  5-7.  How  have  priests,  custodians,  and 
teachers  of  the  law  fulfilled  their  responsibilities?  Note 
the  charge  in  2.  8.  (2)  Consider  the  foreign  marriage 
and  divorce.  Examine  2.  11  and  state  Malachi's  objection 
to  marriage  with  non-Jewish  women.  Eead  2.  13-16  for 
the  prophet's  protest  against  divorce.  In  what  words  does 
he  describe  the  grief  of  the  divorced  wives?  (3)  Of  what 
other  evils  is  the  community  guilty?  (3.  5,  6). 

(c)  There  is  yet  a  worse  count  against  Israel:  Some 
have  grown  sTcepti^al  regarding  the  love  of  Jehovah  and 
the  worth  of  religion.  Examine  1.  2;  2.  17;  3.  14,  15  and 
state  the  nature  of  this  doubt.  What  has  produced  this 
skepticism?  What  is  Malachi's  answer?  (1.  2-5;  3.  16  to 
4.3). 

The  Messianic  Kingdom. — (a)  The  day  of  Jehovah. — 
As  with  the  older  prophets  Jehovah's  visit  in  judgment  is 
rather  upon  Israel  than  upon  the  nations  which  have  af- 
flicted the  Jew.  Jehovah  will  appear  suddenly  in  his 
Temple  (3.  1),  but  his  appearance  will  be  a  grievous  visita- 
tion. Examine  3.  1-6 ;  4.  1-6  and  state  the  time,  the  man- 
ner of  its  coming,  the  purpose  and  the  results  of  this  judg- 
ment day.  Why  is  Elijah  thought  to  be  the  forerunner  of 
this  visitation? 

(h)  The  promise. — Examine  3.  16,  17;  4.  2,  3  and  ob- 
serve the  cleavage  here  indicated  in  the  Jewish  community 
and  the  promise  that  the  pious,  faithful  members  of  the 
state  shall  rise  into  control  of  those  before  whom  they  now 
are  abashed.  What  is  the  destined  end  of  those  who  now 
neglect  or  despise  Jehovah's  ordinances? 


FKOM  ZECHARIAH  TO  NEIIEMIAH        169 

/  Isaiah  56-66 

Chapters  56  to  66  in  the  book  of  Isaiah  come  from  one 
of  the  dark  hours  of  Jewish  history.  We  cannot  be  cer- 
tain of  their  authorship.  They  have  been  spoken  of  by 
some  as  the  prophecies  of  "the  Third  Isaiah."  We  will 
not  have  time  to  examine  them  all. 

(a)  The  dark  /iowr.— First  read  Isaiah  56.  9  to  57.  13 
for  a  stern  denunciation  of  selfish  and  sensuous  leaders 
of  the  community  and  of  religious  practices  with  which 
true  ethical  religion  could  have  nothing  to  do.  What  sins 
are  denounced  in  Isaiah  56.  9-12?  Examine  57.  1,  2 
and  state  some  of  the  results  of  misrule.  See  also  Isaiah 
59.  1-5  for  another  statement  of  the  crimes  of  the  leaders 
of  the  community.  Examine  attentively  57.  3-10  and 
observe  the  manifold  accusations  of  debased  worship.  Sor- 
cery, unbridled  sexual  license  in  the  name  of  worship  at 
the  high  places,  sacrifices  to  non-Jewish  deities,  phallic 
rites,  and  necromancy  are  here  denounced.  Read  also 
65.  3,  4,  11;  66.  17  for  an  additional  list  of  ancient  super- 
stitions and  pagan  modes  of  worship.  These  were  no  re- 
cent importation  into  Palestinian  life.  They  were  partly 
old  Canaanitish  practices,  which  never  had  been  eradicated 
from  the  life  of  the  common  folk,  and  partly  the  worship 
of  the  non-Jewish  people  settled  in  Palestine  during  the 
decadent  period  of  the  Jewish  state.  In  this  period  of 
despair  and  through  mixed  marriages  they  had  crept  into 
Judaism. 

(h)  The  coining  dawn. — This  prophet  believes  that  such 
conditions  cannot  endure.  The  wicked  rulers  and  apos- 
tate worshipers  shall  be  destroyed  (59.  18;  60.  18;  65.  6,  7, 
11,  12).  But  fortunately  there  is  another  class  in  the 
Judean  community.  For  those  faithful  loyal  servants  of 
Jehovah — the  true  Israel  in  the  midst  of  these  dark  times 
— Jehovah's  judgment  brings  prosperity  and  peace.  See 
65.  9,  10,  17-25  for  pictures  of  the  restored  Jewish  state. 
Chapters  60  to  62  are  a  series  of  songs  glorifying  the  Mes- 
sianic age.  They  are  worth  examining  attentively.  A 
Redeemer  is  to  come  to  Zion  (59.  20),  and  Jerusalem  is 


170  THE  EELIGIOX  OF  JUDAH 

exhorted  to  exalt  herself  in  the  glory  of  Jehovah.  What 
are  the  elements  of  this  golden  age  ?  Exilic  Jews  and  wan- 
dering Gentiles  shall  resort  to  Jerusalem  (60.  3,  4)  ;  the 
wealth  of  the  world  shall  stream  into  Palestine  (60.  5- 
17);  injustice  and  misrule  shall  have  ceased  (60.  18). 
State  the  striking  conception  of  this  City  of  God  in  60.  19- 
22.  Who  is  the  speaker  in  61.  1-3  ?  To  whom  does  he  speak 
in  61.  5-7?  In  61.  10,  11  restored  Israel  voices  her  hap- 
piness. The  prophet  (62.  1-5)  again  resumes  his  predic- 
tions of  the  golden  age  and  declares  that  he  will  not  cease 
his  preaching  until  the  Messianic  times  dawn. 

SUMMAEY 

This  lesson  is  a  survey  of  the  religious  life  of  the  Pales- 
tinian Jews  during  the  extremely  despairing  years  from 
the  rebuilding  of  the  second  Temple  (520-516)  to  the 
arrival  of  Nehemiah  (445).  During  these  seventy-five 
years  the  outward  fortunes  of  the  community  have  not  im- 
proved. Within  the  Jewish  state  two  parties  have  arisen: 
one  with  its  liking  for  non-Jewish  religious  practices,  its 
disregard  for  justice  and  righteousness,  its  pride  and 
skepticism,  and  its  reliance  upon  ritual  at  the  expense  of 
righteousness;  the  other  represented  by  the  prophets,  who 
cling  to  Jehovah,  worship  him  in  the  spirit  of  the  old 
Deuteronomic  reformers,  and  believe  that  Jehovah  will 
reward  them  and  justify  himself  by  an  approaching  ad- 
vent to  judgment  upon  the  nations  and  upon  Jerusalem. 

There  are  three  phases  of  this  judgment  program  which 
dominated  the  thinking  of  this  second  party  in  the  days 
immediately  preceding  the  arrival  of  Nehemiah :  (a)  The 
postponement  of  the  nation's  final  deliverance  from  its 
troubles  is  due  to  the  prevalence  of  evils  within  the  Jewish 
community  at  Jerusalem.  "Your  iniquities  have  separated 
between  you  and  your  God"  (59.  2)  is  the  Third  Isaiah's 
analysis  of  the  community's  forlornness  and  desolation. 
(b)  Jehovah  no  longer  will  seek  for  a  human  helper  to 
usher  in  the  better  day.  He  alone  will  deliver  his  people. 
"His  own  arm  brought  salvation"  (59.  16) ;  "I  have  trod- 
den the  winepress  alone"  (63.  3).     (c)  While  the  Jewish 


FROM  ZECHARIAH  TO  NEIIEMIAH        171 

state,  having  suffered  so  long  at  the  hands  of  the  nations, 
is  to  be  ministered  unto  by  the  nations,  there  is  an  echo 
of  the  '^servant  mission"  of  the  nation.  The  people  shall 
become  a  priestly  nation :  it  will  be  its  function  to  mediate 
between  nations  and  Jehovah  (61.  6).  But  the  transformed 
city  undertakes  no  distant  missions.  Gentilic  worship  is 
acceptable  only  when  performed  at  Jerusalem  (56.  7). 
The  Temple  becomes  a  universal  house  of  prayer  only  for 
those  who  are  drawn  to  Jerusalem  by  its  glory. 

The  Progress  of  the  Kingdom 

There  are  dark  hours  for  the  kingdom  builders  in  every 
land  and  age.  The  modern  Christian  war  cry,  "The 
world  for  Christ  in  our  generation !"  and  the  rapid  po- 
litical and  social  changes  in  non-Christian  lands  sent  a 
thrill  of  expectation  and  the  hope  of  a  speedy  universal 
triumph  of  the  kingdom  of  God  into  the  faintest  heart. 
The  world  war  with  the  central  empires  of  Europe  checked 
this  optimism.  There  are  weary  years  still  to  be  traversed 
by  the  undaunted  disciples  of  Christ.  Progress  never  is 
thrust  upon  a  man  or  a  people.  We  progress  by  becoming 
progressives.  We  live  by  keeping  our  souls  alive  to  the 
things  worth  while.  Dark  years  there  will  always  be  for 
the  individual  and  the  nation  whose  soul  is  not  lit  im- 
periously with  the  splendor  of  the  world  that  ought  to  be. 

Yet  no  age  is  hopeless  whose  darkness  is  not  accepted 
apathetically.  This  Jewish  half  century  following  the 
completion  of  the  second  Temple,  lacking  in  faith  and 
heroism  and  wanting  great  statesmanship,  carried  at  its 
heart  burning  protests  against  social  injustice,  sensual 
evils,  and  formal  worship.  The  man,  the  city,  or  the  civil- 
ization whose  evils  awaken  no  condemnation  within  is 
hopelessly  dead.  As  long  as  sin  arouses  the  passionate 
protest  of  conscience,  there  is  a  living  chance  for  God's 
kingdom  to  come. 

It  seems  a  little  thing  to  lift  only  a  protesting  voice. 
To  draw  a  sword  against  unrighteousness  seems  far  more 
worth  while.   To  frame  a  law,  to  hale  a  criminal  into  its 


172  THE  RELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

outraged  presence,  to  possess  executive  power,  seems  some- 
thing to  be  coveted;  but  to  be  only  a  voice  crying  out 
against  evil  in  a  wilderness  of  wrong  seems  so  futile.  But 
without  unceasing  moral  protest  the  legislator  draws  up 
his  code  in  vain,  the  judge  in  vain  calls  his  court,  and 
vainly  does  the  executive  seek  to  punish  evil.  Go,  then, 
bravely  to  your  unending  moral  duty  of  condemning  wrong 
and  praising  virtue ;  talk  earnestly  against  every  individual 
and  community  evil.  It  is  your  protest  that  saves  society 
from  rottenness  and  despair. 

We  must  learn  to  /alue  in  its  true  proportions  bold  and 
vigorous  speech  in  the  face  of  oppression,  vice,  ignorance, 
temptation,  and  soulless  tradition.  The  world  learns 
slowly  to  admire  the  patriotism  of  the  social  reformer.  To 
brave  alone  the  oppression  of  a  dominant  social  class,  the 
evils  rooted  in  the  habits  of  a  people,  the  wrongs  that 
enrich  the  unscrupulous,  requires  a  loftier  courage  than 
to  swing  into  battle  intoxicated  by  its  danger.  The  world 
has  seen  no  finer  devotion  to  duty  than  the  unwelcome 
messages  of  the  Hebrew  prophets.  Our  civilization  often 
seems  coarse  and  brutal.  Measured  by  our  ideals,  the  race 
has  not  journeyed  far  from  savagery.  Yet  when  progress  is 
tested  by  the  tears  and  the  blood  of  those  prophets  and 
martyrs  who  loved  their  fellow  men  enough  to  brave  their 
ignorant  hate  unto  death,  we  seem  to  have  reached  the 
hills  of  heaven.  Our  political  and  religious  liberty  is  con- 
secrated by  an  innumerable  host  of  heroes.  They  were 
not  silent  in  the  face  of  injustice  and  tyranny.  Wicked- 
ness could  not  frown  them  down.  Their  vision  of  what 
ought  to  be  inspired  them  to  denounce  existing  evils,  and 
their  feeling  for  the  oppressed  elected  them  to  the  general- 
ship of  the  straggling  army  of  the  common  man. 

Test  Questions 

1.  What  is  Zechariah's  valuation  of  the  sacrificial  ritual? 

2.  Why  were  men  like  Zechariah  and  Malachi,  who  saw  so 
clearly  the  evils  of  ritualistic  worship,  so  interested  in  the 
Temple? 

3.  How  is  the  rise  of  the  belief  in  angels  to  be  accounted 
for?    What  is  their  function? 


FROM  ZECHARIAH  TO  NEHEMIAH        173 

4.  What  is  the  position  and  function  of  Satan  in  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  world? 

5.  Why  did  the  propliets  so  frequently  associate  the  in- 
auguration of  the  Messianic  era  with  world-wide  political 
disturbances? 

6.  To  what  extent  was  the  blessed  era  dependent  on  human 
initiative? 

7.  How  may  the  fact  be  accounted  for  that  although  the 
Messianic  predictions  remained  unfulfilled,  the  hope  of  the 
golden  age  continually  reappears  in  Jewish  prophecy? 

8.  What  prophets  thus  far  studied  expected  a  Messiah? 

9.  What  are  the  leading  characteristics  of  the  Messianic 
reign? 

10.  Why  does  the  Messianic  hope  become  a  more  prominent 
subject  of  prophecy  after  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  than  it 
was  with  the  preexilic  writers? 

Works  of  Refeeence 

Old-Testament  History,  Peritz,  pages  246-53. 
A  History  of  the  Jewish  People,  Kent,  pages  144-66. 
Jerusalem,  Smith,  Volume  II,  Chapter  XII. 
Articles    "Angel"    and    "Satan,"   Dictionary   of    the   Bible, 
Hastings. 


CHAPTER  XVII 
NEHEMIAH:  BUILDEE  AND  REFORMER 

The  preceding  chapter  carried  the  story  of  Israel's  re- 
ligion to  the  year  445  B.  C.  The  building  of  the  Temple, 
completed  in  516,  was  followed  by  an  extended  period  of 
distress  in  the  Jewish  community.  Chapter  XVI  pre- 
sented the  dominant  religious  ideas  and  leaders  during 
that  period  of  stagnation.  The  present  chapter  is  a  study 
chiefly  of  the  mission  and  achievements  of  Nehemiah.  This 
man,  whose  influence  was  so  far-reaching  in  the  develop- 
ment of  Judaism,  was  one  of  the  Babylonian  Jews  and 
a  cupbearer  to  Artaxerxes  I,  the  Persian  king.  This 
was  a  position  of  great  importance  and  it  gave  Nehe- 
miah a  rare  chance  to  advance  the  fortunes  of  his  country- 
men. 

The  order  of  events  at  this  period  is  a  greatly  contro- 
verted question.  WTiether  Ezra  preceded  or  followed 
Nehemiah  in  Jerusalem  is  a  difficult  problem.  No  uni- 
versally satisfactory  solution  of  the  difficulty  has  been 
found.  The  chronological  order  of  their  labors  adopted 
here  and  in  the  next  chapter  assigns  Nehemiah's  first  visit 
to  Jerusalem  in  the  years  445-433,  his  second  visit  about 
425,  and  Ezra's  some  years  later. 

The  First  Visit  of  Nehemiah 

Nehemiah,  Governor  of  Judah. — Read  1.  1  to  2.  11. 
Who  was  Nehemiah?  Where  was  he  living,  and  what 
was  he  doing?  What  awakened  his  new  interest  in  Jeru- 
salem? The  student  will  observe  the  emphasis  upon 
prayer  in  these  memoirs  of  Nehemiah.  It  seems  to  me 
likely  that  the  memoirs  of  Ezra  and  Nehemiah  were  used 
by  a  chronicler  to  write  the  book  Ezra-Nehemiah,  and  that 
he  found  a  brief  prayer  of  Nehemiah's  recorded  and  elabo- 
rated it  into  the  petition  recorded  in  1.  5-11.    But  the 

174 


NEHEMIAH:  BUILDER  AND  REFORMER   175 

prayer  may  well  express  the  religious  convictions  of 
thoughtful  Jews  in  the  midst  of  the  distresses  of  the  mid- 
dle of  the  fifth  century.  Note  especially  the  ideas  of  deity : 
character,  relation  to  Israel,  and  the  nature  of  his  demands 
from  his  people.  Also,  observe  the  explanation  of  the  peo- 
ple's afflictions.  What  is  the  immediate  object  of  this 
prayer?  In  what  manner  was  the  way  opened  for  Nehe- 
miah  to  make  his  request?  What  did  Nehemiah  wish  to 
do?  What  commission  did  he  receive?  What  is  said  of 
the  journey?  Sanballat  was  governor  of  Samaria  at  this 
time,  and  his  opposition  expresses  the  Samaritan  antago- 
nism toward  Jerusalem. 

Nehemiah  in  Jerusalem. — (a)  His  first  measure. — Read 
2.  12-20  and  explain  Nehemiah's  need  for  secrecy  and 
the  twofold  reception  of  his  prosposal  to  rebuild  the  walls, 

(b)  The  building  of  the  wall  and  the  Samaritan  opposi- 
tion.— The  third  chapter  of  Nehemiah,  describing  the 
towns  and  guilds  at  work  upon  the  fortifications,  may  be 
read  only  by  the  most  studious.  Read  chapter  4.  What 
were  the  first  measures  taken  by  the  Samaritan  party  to 
frustrate  the  purpose  of  Nehemiah?  To  what  additional 
methods  did  they  resort?  (4.  8).  In  what  way  was  this 
new  danger  met  by  Nehemiah?  Note  again  Nehemiah's 
resort  to  prayer. 

(c)  Further  efforts  to  stop  the  fortifications  of  Jerusa- 
lem (chapter  6). — What  was  the  device  of  Sanballat  and 
his  party  to  get  Nehemiah  into  their  hands  ?  State  the  man- 
ner in  which  the  governor  avoided  the  trap.  What  was 
Sanballat's  next  attempt  to  overthrow  the  work  of  Nehe- 
miah, and  how  was  the  attack  met?  State  the  third 
conspiracy  and  its  outcome.  Note  especially  the  character 
of  the  numerous  prophets  at  this  period.  One  other  at- 
tempt to  thwart  the  high  endeavors  of  Nehemiah  is  men- 
tioned. Consider  the  statement  and  explain  the  purpose 
of  this  correspondence. 

(d)  The  defense  and  the  repopulation  of  Jerusalem. — 
In  7.  1-3  it  is  stated  that  when  wall  and  gates  were  com- 
pletely restored,  gatekeepers  were  appointed,  and  the  city's 
defense  placed  in  charge  of  Ilananiah,  captain  of  the  for- 


176  THE  RELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

tress,  and  Hanani,  NehemiaVs  brother — men  of  un- 
doubted trustworthiness.  Sentries  sufficient  to  guard  the 
walls  were  stationed  at  regular  intervals.  The  city,  now 
that  it  was  secure  with  walls,  became  suitable  for  resi- 
dence, and  Nehemiah  called  a  conference  of  nobles,  rulers, 
and  the  people.  The  chiefs,  or  rulers,  alone  seem  to  have 
resided  within  the  city  at  the  time  of  the  completion  of 
the  walls  (11.  1).  The  people  were  asked  to  volunteer  to 
leave  their  villages  to  reside  in  Jerusalem  and  were  highly 
praised  for  their  sacrifice  (11.  2).  But  not  enough  volun- 
teered to  satisfy  the  rulers,  and  a  tenth  of  the  surround- 
ing population  was  chosen  by  lot  (11.  1).  Since  the  busi- 
ness of  the  Jewish  community  at  this  time  was  almost 
wholly  agricultural,  it  involved  a  hardship  upon  those 
who  lived  by  daily  manual  toil  to  reside  in  the  city. 

The  Social  Distress  of  the  Judsean  Community. — Eead 
Nehemiah  5.  These  conditions  arose  after  the  people 
were  induced  to  settle  in  the  city  and  near  the  close  of 
the  twelve  years  that  made  up  Nehemiah's  first  visit  to 
Jerusalem.  Note  the  three  forms  in  which  the  economic 
distress  presented  itself  to  the  men  and  women  who  suf- 
fered thereby:  overcrowded  population,  scanty  harvests, 
and  the  royal  tax.  What  measures  were  forced  upon  these 
poorer  people  to  meet  these  emergencies  ?  What  especially 
constituted  the  bitterness  of  the  situation?  In  what  way 
did  Nehemiah  rectify  these  wrongs  ?  Note  the  two  classes 
upon  whom  Nehemiah  laid  the  responsibility  for  these 
intolerable  conditions.  What  rare  tribute  to  Nehemiah's 
character  is  given  in  5.  8?  What  incredible  perfidy  of 
the  Jerusalem  nobles  is  narrated  in  this  same  verse? 
Verse  10  should  be  corrected  to  read,  '7  myself  have  lent 
the  people  money  and  grain,  hut  I  have  not  accepted  inter- 
est." What  definite  demand  does  the  governor  now  make 
of  the  nobles?  Observe  that  the  nobles  are  made  to  take 
oath  before  the  priests  to  fulfill  their  promise  to  Nehemiah. 
What  further  act  of  Nehemiah's  tended  to  make  certain 
the  restitution  of  property?  State  definitely  the  public 
service  rendered  by  Nehemiah  in  supporting  the  finances 
of  the  feeble  state. 


NEHEMIAH:  BUILDER  AND  REFORMER   177 

The  Second  Administration  of  Nehemiah 

Nehemiah,  who  undoubtedly  had  remained  away  from 
the  court  of  Artaxerxes  longer  than  either  he  or  his  mon- 
arch had  anticipated,  at  the  end  of  twelve  years  returned 
to  the  Persian  capital.  How  long  he  remained  at  Susa 
is  not  known.  Since  his  royal  patron  died  in  425  B.  C, 
and  since  Eliashib  was  still  high  priest,  and  Tobiah  was 
still  living  to  arouse  the  antagonism  of  the  stricter  Jew- 
ish party,  Nehemiah  could  not  have  been  absent  from 
Jerusalem  more  than  four  or  five  years. 

Read  Nehemiah  13.  1-9.  The  task  of  the  stricter  Jews 
to  build  up  the  state  of  their  desires  was  exceedingly 
difficult.  It  may  be  assumed  that  Nehemiah  was  not  slack 
in  correcting  religious  and  moral  abuses  during  the 
twelve  years  of  his  first  governorship.  But  during  his 
absence  a  weaker  governor  was  unable  to  prevent  either  a 
neglect  of  worship  and  ritual  or  social  injustice  on  the 
part  of  Jewish  leaders.  The  tithes  were  not  paid,  and 
in  consequence  of  this  fact  certain  rooms  in  the  Temple 
were  not  in  use.  Eliashib,  the  high  priest,  in  violation 
of  a  Deuteronomic  law  (23.  3-5),  had  altered  the  interior 
rooms  of  the  Temple  to  provide  a  dwelling  place  for  his 
kinsman  Tobiah.  This  action  was  irregular  in  two  par- 
ticulars :  Tobiah  was  not  a  priest  nor  was  he  a  Jew.  Ne- 
hemiah curtly  remarks  that  he  was  not  at  Jerusalem  when 
Eliashib  made  these  arrangements.  It  was  short  work 
for  the  returned  governor  to  eject  Tobiah's  household 
stuff  from  the  Temple  and  restore  the  rooms  for  the  pur- 
pose intended. 

The  people  had  grown  careless  in  the  presentation  of 
tithes.  As  a  result  of  the  scarcity  of  revenue  the  Levites 
and  the  Temple  singers  were  forced  to  leave  the  city  and 
cultivate  their  fields.  Nehemiah  (13.  10-14)  compelled 
the  resumption  of  payment  of  tithes  of  grain,  wine,  and 
oil,  and  appointed  trustworthy  persons  to  distribute  them 
to  the  various  Temple  officials  whose  support  came  from 
such  tithes. 

Read    13.    15-22.     The   energetic   spirit   and    religious 


178  THE  EELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

zeal  of  the  governor  is  revealed  further  in  his  compulsion 
of  a  better  Sabbath  observance.  Apparently  no  distinc- 
tion was  being  made  between  the  Sabbath  and  the  other 
days  of  the  week.  Labor  in  fields  and  vineyards  went  on, 
farmers  brought  their  goods  to  the  city  for  sale,  and  even 
a  Tyrian  fish  market  was  permitted  on  the  day  that,  for 
many  centuries,  had  been  designated  a  day  of  rest  by 
Jewish  law.  Nehemiah  reproached  the  leaders  for  this 
open  violation  of  Jewish  religion  and  warned  them  that 
such  conduct  would  bring  upon  the  struggling  community 
the  calamities  that  the  sins  of  their  fathers  in  earlier  times 
had  brought  upon  Jerusalem.  The  city  gates,  by  Nehe- 
miah's  orders,  were  closed  during  the  Sabbath.  But  the 
industrious  merchants  held  their  markets  outside  the  walls, 
and  the  conscienceless  citizens  went  forth  and  traded  as 
usual.  Then  Nehemiah  threatened  them  with  arrest  and 
punishment,  and  the  evil  ceased. 

Eead  13.  23-29.  Other  laws  of  Deuteronomy  had  been 
set  aside  by  the  careless  and  easy-going  community.  Jews 
had  intermarried  with  foreigners,  and  these  mixed  mar- 
riages were  not  confined  to  the  humble  citizens.  Even  a 
grandson  of  the  high  priest  Eliashib  had  married  a  daugh- 
ter of  Sanballat,  governor  of  Samaria  and  one  of  Nehe- 
miah's  most  persistent  enemies.  The  governor  applied 
heroic  remedies.  He  expostulated  with  the  men  for  their 
conduct,  cursed  them,  struck  some  of  them,  and  plucked  out 
the  hair  of  others.  The  son-in-law  of  Sanballat  was  ex- 
pelled from  Jerusalem.  Under  such  persuasion  Nehemiah 
was  able  to  obtain  a  promise  under  oath  that  mixed  mar- 
riages should  cease. 

These  various  reforms — and,  undoubtedly,  there  were 
many  others  whose  record  has  not  come  down  to  us — 
indicate  the  danger  into  which  the  Jerusalem  community 
had  fallen.  There  were  probably  two  reasons  for  this 
recurring  laxness :  With  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  and 
the  devastation  of  Judah  by  the  Babylonians  neighbor- 
ing peoples  had  pressed  into  Jewish  territory.  In  many 
cases  fields  and  villages  were  largely  in  the  hands  of  the 
former  neighbors  of  Judah.     Carelessness  toward  Jewish 


NEIIEMIAH:  BUILDEK  AND  REFORMER   179 

worship  naturally  would  result  from  the  presence  of 
these  foreigners.  Intermarriage,  natural  under  the  cir- 
cumstances, added  to  the  neglect  of  Jewish  rites.  Nehe- 
miah  discovered  that  there  were  children  of  Jews  who 
could  not  speak  the  Jewish  tongue.  Then,  too,  the  re- 
peated failure  of  Messianic  prophecy  tended  toward  lax- 
ness  of  religion.  A  century  had  passed  since  a  line  of 
prophets  had  hegun  to  preach  that  the  dawning  of  the 
Messianic  age  was  at  hand.  These  hopes  of  a  grand  and 
blessed  Jewish  state  remained  unfulfilled.  Naturally,  a 
spirit  of  skepticism  pervaded  priests  and  nobles,  and  con- 
sequently they  drifted  into  a  selfish  pessimism,  which  con- 
tented itself  with  getting  out  of  life  the  best  for  them- 
selves. It  was  of  the  highest  moment  in  the  progress  of 
Jewish  religion  that  a  man  like  Nehemiah  spent  a  dozen 
years  and  more  as  governor  of  Judah  and  maintained  an 
oversight  of  Jewish  affairs  through  two  decades  in  which 
the  spirit  and  institutions  of  Judaism  were  in  greatest 
jeopardy. 

Attitude  of  the  People  Towakd  Nehemiah 

Nehemiah  was  an  energetic  and  strong-willed  man.  He 
knew  what  was  needed  in  Jerusalem,  and  his  own  patriotic, 
unselfish,  and  unflagging  devotion  to  religion  enabled  him 
to  carry  through  his  reforms.  The  office  of  governor,  his 
position  in  the  Persian  court,  his  wealth,  his  armed  re- 
tainers, and  the  friends  he  made  among  the  Levites  by  his 
advocacy  of  their  cause  all  contributed  to  his  success.  But 
he  had  arrayed  against  him  many  of  the  priests  and  nobles 
of  Judah.  There  was  much  opposition  to  his  ideas  and 
reforms.  He  made  many  enemies.  There  is  one  fine  piece 
of  literary  evidence  of  this  opposition  which  has  been 
preserved  for  us  in  the  Old-Testament  canon.  It  is  the 
book  of  Ruth.  Nehemiah  reminded  the  men  of  Jerusa- 
lem that  the  marriage  of  Solomon  with  foreign  women, 
notwithstanding  his  greatness,  was  a  grievous  sin  that 
stained  his  character.  Some  priest,  scribe,  or  noble  re- 
plied to  this  argument  by  writing  the  beautiful  story  of 
Ruth,  the  Moabitess.    Marriage  with  foreigners  cannot  be 


180  THE  RELTGIOX  OF  JUDAH 

such  a  great  offense,  is  the  argument  of  this  book,  for 
David  himself  was  the  descendant  of  a  foreigner.  From 
the  house  of  David  we  expect  our  Messianic  prince  to 
come.  How,  then,  in  the  light  of  this  illustrious  example 
of  Judah's  kings,  can  our  marriage  with  these  foreigners 
who  have  come  to  live  among  us  be  so  sinful?  Whatever 
we  think  of  the  beautiful  devotion  of  Ruth,  Nehemiah 
would  have  seen  in  this  story  only  the  fact  that  the  Davidic 
line  had  been  vitiated  by  the  introduction  of  Moabitish 
blood. 

SUMMAEY 

Nehemiah  is  the  leading  figure  of  the  Palestinian  Jews 
for  at  least  two  decades  (445-424  B.  C).  His  memoirs, 
part  of  which  are  now  incorporated  in  the  Biblical  Nehe- 
miah, possess  the  highest  historical  value.  They  show 
us  the  spirit  of  Judaism  at  work  in  its  earliest  years. 
Judaism  is  essentially  a  religious  state,  separated  by  race 
and  by  religion  from  the  remainder  of  the  world,  this 
separatist  policy  being  continually  fanned  by  a  growing 
fanaticism  for  Jewish  law  and  customs.  It  must  be  borne 
in  mind,  however,  that  the  perils  of  the  Persian,  Greek,  and 
Roman  periods  of  Jewish  history,  apart  from  this  rise  of 
Judaism,  would  have  crushed  the  political  and  religious 
life  of  Israel.  Therefore,  the  work  of  Nehemiah  in  re- 
building the  walls  and  the  enforced  purging  of  the  com- 
munity of  alien  elements  are  of  great  moment  in  the  devel- 
opment of  the  kingdom  of  God. 

Consider,  again,  the  obstacles  overcome  by  Nehemiah. 
The  high  priestly  rulers  and  nobles,  intrenched  in  au- 
thority and  wealth,  were  indifferent  to  the  Deuteronomic 
provisions  for  worship  and  the  welfare  of  the  poorer  mem- 
bers of  the  community.  Many  of  these  leaders,  despite 
remonstrance  and  warning,  continued  to  marry  into  non- 
Jewish  families  and  so  endangered  the  purity  of  language, 
blood,  and  religion.  After  the  destruction  of  the  city  in 
586  B.  C,  Ammonite,  Edomite,  Bedouin,  and  Philistine 
pressed  in  upon  Judah.  To  what  extent  these  neighbors 
occupied  the  territory  of  Judah  in  Nehemiah's  day  is  not 


NEHEMIAH:  BUILDER  AND  REFORMER   181 

clear.  But  the  plans  of  Nehemiah  to  give  the  Jewish  state 
"a  place  in  the  sun"  awoke  the  hostility  of  these  foreigners. 
Into  this  enfeebled  Jewish  community,  yielding  to  the 
pressure  of  conditions  in  Palestine,  Nehemiah  came  intent 
upon  building  up  a  compact,  righteous,  and  rigidly  Jew- 
ish state.  It  was  no  slight  task.  That  he  succeeded  lifts 
him  high  among  the  heroes  and  leaders  of  the  kingdom  of 
God  in  Israel. 

His  contribution  to  Israel's  religion  wears  at  least  four 
aspects:  As  the  builder  of  the  walls,  the  encourager  of 
the  repopulation  of  the  city,  and  the  upholder  of  strict 
separatist  views,  his  governorship  in  Jerusalem  was  pro- 
foundly significant  in  the  development  of  Judaism.  With- 
out a  walled  city  there  could  be  no  check  to  the  growing 
impurity  of  race  and  worship.  It  is  apparent  from  these 
studies  that  the  Babylonian  Jews  surpassed  the  Pales- 
tinian community  in  their  purer  and  finer  conceptions  of 
religion.  The  vigorous  rule  and  unflinching  self-denial 
of  Nehemiah  prepared  the  way  for  Ezra  and  a  stricter 
code  by  accustoming  the  Jews  of  Jerusalem  to  the  deep 
sympathy  and  high  ideals  of  the  Jews  of  the  dispersion. 
Then,  Nehemiah  again  asserted  the  older  prophetic  identi- 
fication of  religion  and  ethics.  Social  justice  again  was 
enthroned  as  the  soul  of  piety.  Finally,  his  exhibit  of 
generous,  high-minded,  self-reliant,  courageous  patriot- 
ism and  his  devotion  to  Jehovah,  expressed  in  a  life  of 
prayer,  loyalty  to  the  Deuteronomic  worship,  and  unstinted 
self-sacrifice  in  the  working  out  of  Jehovah's  purposes  for 
Israel,  became  a  lasting  benediction  to  the  Jewish  people. 
More  than  two  centuries  later  Jesus  ben  Sirach,  reviewing 
the  fortunes  of  his  people  (Ecclesiasticus  49.  13),  says  of 
Nehemiah : 

*'The  memorial  of  Nehemiah  is  great, 

Who  raised  up  for  us  the  walls  that  were  fallen, 

And  set  up  the  gates  and  bars, 

And  raised  up  our  homes  again." 

A  Blue  Print  for  Modern  Builders  of  Civilization 

A  man  is  known  by  his  enemies.  Never  to  arouse  antag- 


182  THE  EELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

onism  is  never  to  produce  results.  "If  it  be  possible,  .  .  . 
be  at  peace  with  all  men,"  is  a  Pauline  injunction.  It  is 
not  possible  for  a  man  of  God  to  be  at  peace  with  all  men. 
Progressives  always  arouse  the  distrust  and  wrath  of  con- 
servatives. If  you  insist  upon  political  righteousness,  just 
courts,  equitable  distribution  of  the  profits  of  toil,  the 
abolition  of  the  saloon,  prostitution,  gambling,  and  a  cor- 
rupt theater,  you  will  make  enemies.  Do  not  worry  about 
them.  Thank  God  that  you  have  enough  moral  and  spirit- 
ual vision  and  enough  spine  to  make  enemies  of  this  sort. 
Greed  is  the  chief  enemy  of  the  kingdom  of  God.  Evils 
exist  because  there  is  money  in  them.  Selfish  grasping 
at  wealth  is  the  chief  antagonist  of  human  brotherhood. 
"To  be  ministered  unto"  is  the  chief  motto  of  far  too  many 
who  count  themselves  moral  and  Christian.  This  is  not 
the  motto  of  the  Christ,  nor  upon  it  can  be  founded  an 
enduring  civilization.  He  who  would  be  great  in  the  civil- 
ization yet  to  come  must  be  the  servant  of  his  fellow  men. 

This  is  the  supreme,  essential,  and  insistent  lesson  to 
be  learned  in  the  fashioning  of  great  character:  Self-re- 
nunciation is  the  one  open  door  to  immortality.  Isaiah, 
Jeremiah,  Nehemiah,  Jesus,  Paul — what  a  galaxy  of  Jew- 
ish glory!  Dare  we  forget  that  they  won  their  kingdom 
by  paths  of  heroic  ministry,  self-renunciation,  the  choice  of 
a  cause  instead  of  the  pursuit  of  a  career? 

How  do  men  become  the  servants  and  the  saviors  of  the 
world?  What  enables  them  to  rise  above  petty  and  mean 
motives  and  ambitions  ?  Is  it  not  the  inspiring  conscious- 
ness of  a  holy  cause?  They  believe  in  a  program  of  God. 
They  do  not  feel  that  the  age — its  beliefs  and  institutions, 
its  good  and  evil — is  final.  Seeing  this  high  purpose  of 
God  to  lift  the  world  into  resplendent  triumphs,  they  set 
themselves  to  the  high  cause  that  has  glowed  upon  them 
from  the  love  and  will  of  God.  Their  lives  and  their 
labors  become  consecrated  to  his  purposes.  It  is  this  con- 
sciousness of  being  God's  servants  which  transforms  them 
into  man's  saviors. 

There  is  a  vast  deal  of  cowardice  in  life.  Sin  flaunts 
itself  upon  the  streets,  violates  the  laws,  lays  intolerable 


NEHEMIAH:  BUILDER  AND  REFORMER   183 

burdens  upon  the  poor,  corrupts  the  patriotism  of  the 
wealthy  and  the  educated;  and  the  prophets  who  lift  their 
protest  are  jailed  or  jeered.  We  need  Nehemiahs:  men  in 
high  position  to  champion  causes  whose  opponents  are 
intrenched  in  wealth,  political  position,  and  social  pres- 
tige. Prosperity  often  kills  the  prophets,  and  social  func- 
tions dig  their  graves.  Men  are  afraid  of  a  minority. 
They  do  not  taste  the  joys  of  great  individuality.  Let 
someone  with  the  genius  of  Milton  arise  to  write  another 
epic  of  rebellion.  Let  it  not  be  the  sad  and  distant  story 
of  an  angeFs  revolt  in  heaven,  but  the  sorrowful  and  tragic 
story  of  men  and  women  in  rebellion  against  ignorant 
and  vicious  custom  and  tradition.  This  poem  should 
weave  ivy  around  the  brows  of  social  meddlers,  cranks, 
iconoclasts,  and  destroyers  of  special  privilege;  it  should 
set  crowns  upon  patriots,  adventurers,  discoverers,  re- 
formers, and  apostles.  It  should  sink  into  oblivion  the 
human  stumbling  stones  of  progress.  It  should  pass 
Dante's  judgment  upon  the  builders  of  ghettos,  the  de- 
fenders of  caste,  the  priestly  custodians  of  ignorant  tradi- 
tion, the  fomenters  of  class  hate  and  class  struggles,  and 
the  selfish  bullies  who  block  the  roads  of  liberty  for  the 
common  man.  This  new  epic  of  humanity  should  sing  the 
heroism  and  the  courage  and  the  faith  of  the  minority: 
the  few  in  every  age  unto  whom  God  whispers  his  pur- 
poses and  into  whose  trustful  and  obedient  souls  he  flashes 
bits  of  bis  coming  golden  day. 

Questions  to  Be  Discussed 

1.  Under  what  conditions  did  Nehemiah  resort  to  prayer, 
and  to  what  extent  did  his  praying  contribute  to  his  success? 

2.  Why  was  the  building  of  the  walls  of  Jerusalem  so  essen- 
tial to  the  development  of  the  religious  life  of  the  Jews? 

3.  Who  were  the  chief  antagonists  of  Nehemiah,  and  why 
did  they  oppose  the  fortification  of  Jerusalem? 

4.  Contrast  the  city  of  Jerusalem  of  445  and  425  B.  C. 

5.  Recall  the  statements  made  in  Chapter  IX  concerning 
tithes,  and  state  what  changes  have  taken  place  concerning 
tithes.  Why  were  the  people  now  so  reluctant  to  pay  the 
tithe?  What  action  in  the  matter  was  taken  by  Nehemiah? 

6.  What  was  the  danger  to  Israel  in  the  mixed  marriages? 


184  THE  EELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

Estimate  the  success  of  Nehemiah  in  putting  a  stop  to  such 
alliances.  How  did  others  of  the  community  view  such  mar- 
riages? 

7.  How  do  you  account  for  the  prevailing  transgression  of 
the  law  of  Sabbath  observance?  What  measures  were  taken 
by  the  governor  to  enforce  the  law? 

8.  To  what  extent  in  this  period  did  the  people  resort  to 
the  Temple  and  participate  in  its  ritual  of  sacrifice? 

9.  Aside  from  Nehemiah  what  individuals  and  classes  of 
persons  are  leaders  in  the  community? 

WoBKS  OF  Reference 

A  History  of  the  Jewish  People,  Kent,  pages  153-94. 
Old-Testament  History,  Peritz,  pages  254-9. 
Introduction  to  the  Old  Testament,  McFadyen,  pages  290-3. 
Ezra  and  Nehemiah:  Their  Lives  and  Times,  Rawlinson, 
pages  150-82. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 
THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  JEWISH  LAW 

It  will  be  recalled  that  the  Deuteronomic  Code,  pro- 
mulgated by  Josiah  in  Jerusalem,  621  B.  C,  took  prece- 
dence over  the  Book  of  the  Covenant  (Exodus  21-23)  and 
all  other  earlier  fragmentary  Hebrew  laws.  This  code 
was  regarded  as  the  authoritative  Hebrew  code  until  the 
destruction  of  Jerusalem.  Many  of  its  provisions,  being 
incompatible  with  the  Exile,  were  disregarded  for  a  time; 
but  with  the  rebuilding  of  the  Temple  and  the  city  this  code 
again  became  the  highest  authority  in  the  Jewish  com- 
munity. 

Events  during  the  fifth  and  fourth  centuries  seem  to 
demand  for  their  explanation  the  statement  that  among 
Babylonian  Jews,  beginning  with  Ezekiel  and  continuing 
to  Ezra,  there  was  a  continuous  process  of  codifying  the 
ritual  practices  of  past  centuries  and  of  the  issuing  of 
new  laws.  Not  only  were  the  exilic  days  bright  with 
prophecy,  but  the  priest  also  was  active  in  setting  forth 
in  new  codes  the  truths  that  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem 
had  brought  home  to  him.  By  the  time  of  Ezra,  in  the 
earliest  years  of  the  fourth  pre-Christian  century,  the 
two  collections  of  laws  in  the  books  of  Leviticus  and  Num- 
bers, now  called  the  Holiness  Code  and  the  Priests^  Code, 
were  in  existence,  together  with  a  historical  setting  nar- 
rating the  origin  of  the  Jewish  people  and  their  sacred 
institutions. 

EZKA  AND  THE  INTRODUCTION  OF  THE  PrIESTS'  CoDE 

There  are  no  more  difficult  problems  in  Old-Testament 
study  than  the  questions  raised  in  the  attempt  to  determine 
the  facts  of  Ezra's  mission  and  ministry.  The  importance 
of  his  work  is  generally  recognized.  More  than  any  other 
he  contributed  to  the  development  of  legal  religion,  which 

185 


186  THE  EELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

molded  the  life  of  the  Jewish  world  for  the  last  four  pre- 
Christian  centuries  and  which  continues  still  to  give  Jew- 
ish thought  its  characteristic  features. 

Chapters  7  to  10  of  the  book  of  Ezra  and  8  to  10  of 
the  book  of  Nehemiah  contain  portions  of  the  memoirs  of 
Ezra.  From  the  most  reliable  portions  of  these  chapters 
it  seems  that  Ezra,  a  Babylonian  Jew,  some  time  after 
Nehemiah's  second  visit  to  Jerusalem,  disturbed  by  re- 
ports of  the  intimacy  of  the  Jewish  leaders  with  the 
Samaritans  and  feeling  that  the  religious  life  of  the  Ju- 
dagan  Jews  was  not  such  as  pleased  Jehovah,  obtained  from 
the  Persian  monarch  Artaxerxes  II  (405-358  B.  C.)  a 
firman,  or  imperial  permit,  to  repair  to  Jerusalem,  with 
certain  privileges,  in  order  to  set  the  religious  life  in 
better  order.  Ezra  7.  27,  28,  taken  from  Ezra's  memoirs, 
indicates  in  general  terms  the  Persian  king's  firman  and 
Ezra's  efforts  to  secure  it.  Pursuant  to  this  imperial  grant 
Ezra  assembled  quite  a  company  of  exiles  at  some  point  on 
the  river  Ahava  (8.  15).  Ezra  8.  15-29  is  a  further  quota- 
tion from  Ezra's  memoirs.  Upon  the  discovery  that  there 
were  no  Levites  in  the  company  Ezra  sent  messengers  to  the 
Jewish  settlement  at  Casiphia,  imploring  the  Levites  to  ac- 
company the  expedition.  Several  responded  to  this  appeal. 
Since  the  Levites  were  the  descendants  of  the  country 
priests  who  were  compelled  to  give  up  their  positions  at  the 
time  of  Josiah's  reform  in  621  B.  C,  and  because  the  newer 
legislation  gave  the  descendants  of  the  Jerusalem  priests 
preference  over  these  Levites,  the  latter  were  reluctant  to 
return  to  Jerusalem,  where  this  difference  would  be  ac- 
centuated. 

The  journey  to  Jerusalem,  undertaken  without  a  guard 
(8.  22),  required  about  three  and  a  half  months.  See  8. 
24,  25,  28,  29  for  gifts  brought  from  Babylonia  and  the 
care  taken  to  deliver  them  faithfully.  Ezra  8.  31-36  nar- 
rates the  end  of  the  journey,  the  delivery  of  the  treasures 
into  the  hands  of  the  Temple  priests,  and  the  sacrifices 
of  thanksgiving  offered  for  the  safe  arrival.  Shortly  after 
his  arrival  in  Jerusalem,  Ezra  was  informed  that  Levites, 
priests,  and  other  leaders  of  the  community  had  married 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  JEWISH  LAW    187 

non-Jewish  women.  Ezra  was  overwhelmed  at  this  dis- 
loyalty to  Jehovah.  Read  9.  1-11,  13-15  for  Ezra's  concep- 
tion of  the  sinfulness  of  these  mixed  marriages.  Note 
especially  verse  7.  What  is  Ezra's  reading  of  his  people's 
history?  Chapter  10  continues  the  account.  Just  what 
part  of  this  chapter  is  quoted  from  Ezra's  memoirs  has 
not  been  determined.  The  people  in  a  great  assembly  ap- 
pointed a  commission  to  examine  into  these  mixed  mar- 
riages. One  hundred  and  three  men  were  found  to  have 
taken  foreign  wives.  From  them  was  exacted  an  oath 
that  they  would  divorce  these  non-Jewish  women.  No 
statement  is  made  that  they  did  so.  It  was  done,  no 
doubt,  in  some  cases.  One  other  act  attributed  to  Ezra 
seems  quite  probable.  The  event  is  narrated  in  Nehemiah 
8.  1-12.  According  to  this  account  Ezra  read  in  the  pres- 
ence of  a  great  assembly  a  book  of  law.  The  effect  upon 
the  people  (Nehemiah  8.  9)  was  undoubtedly  due  to  their 
fear  of  the  penalty  for  their  past  disobedience.  One  gets 
the  impression  tliat  this  code  of  laws  is  now  heard  for 
the  first  time  by  the  Judasan  community. 

What  is  the  code  that  is  now  introduced  into  Jewish 
life?  No  answer  free  from  objections  ever  has  been  given. 
But  the  most  satisfactory  supposition  is  that  the  code 
introduced  by  Ezra  shortly  after  the  opening  of  the  fourth 
century  was  a  collection  of  laws  made  up  of  what  are 
now  called  the  Holiness  Code  and  the  Priestly  Code. 
Though  a  vast  amount  of  difficulty  attaches  to  the  study 
of  Jewish  law,  it  is  desirable  that  something  should  be 
known  concerning  these  codes. 

The  Holiness  Code 

The  group  of  laws  known  as  the  Holiness  Code  is  found 
in  Leviticus  17  to  26.  This  code  was  compiled  during  the 
Exile  by  some  Babylonian  Jew  or  group  of  such  exiles. 
Without  doubt  it  assembles  the  decisions  of  the  priests  at 
various  sanctuaries  and  thus  reflects  ancient  usage.  At 
the  same  time  it  expresses  the  conviction  that  the  broken 
harmony  between  Jehovah  and  his  people,  evidenced  by  the 


188  THE  RELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

Exile,  can  be  restored  only  by  the  creation  of  a  holy  nation 
in  whose  midst  the  holy  Deity  will  be  content  to  dwell. 
Such  sanctity  of  the  nation  can  be  secured  only  through  a 
carefully  guarded  ritual  of  sacrifice  at  Jerusalem.  This 
code  was  designed,  like  Ezekiel's  code,  to  be  used  by  the 
Jews  of  Judah  and  Jerusalem  who  had  not  been  carried 
into  captivity.  The  compiler  and  author  may  have  hoped 
that  its  acceptance  and  use  at  Jerusalem  would  hasten  the 
return  of  the  exiles. 

Leviticus  19  illustrates  the  method  of  the  compiler  of 
the  Holiness  Code.  The  chapter  is  made  up  of  ancient 
decisions  given  by  the  priests  at  the  sanctuaries,  except 
verses  21,  22,  with  a  few  phrases  added  to  give  the  point 
of  view  of  the  compiler.  This  chapter  should  be  examined 
carefully.  It  has  been  called  "a  brief  manual  of  moral  in- 
struction, perhaps  the  best  representative  of  the  ethics  of 
ancient  Israel."  The  author  of  the  Holiness  Code  desires 
to  secure  the  holiness  of  his  people;  and  although  he  em- 
phasizes ceremonial  holiness  (Leviticus  21.  16-24;  22.  3-9 
and  elsewhere),  he  also  recognizes  the  necessity  of  right 
personal  relationships  to  secure  the  commendation  of  Je- 
hovah. In  this  code  the  teachings  of  the  prophets  are 
not  wholly  obscured.  Keeping  in  mind  the  author's  aim 
to  point  out  the  way  of  holiness,  read  carefully  chapter  19 
and  list  the  moral  requirements  here  demanded.  What 
ceremonial  paths  to  holiness  are  recognized  in  this 
chapter  ? 

Observe  that  there  are  several  holy  things  that  the 
people  are  warned  not  to  profane — namely:  the  name  of 
Jehovah  (18.  21;  19.  12;  20.  3);  the  various  sacrifices 
(19.  8;  22.  15);  the  sanctuary  (21.  12,  23);  and  the 
priesthood  (22.  8,  9).  To  profane  these  things  is  to  treat 
them  commonly:  to  set  aside  their  connection  with  the 
worship  of  Jehovah  and  to  neglect  to  pay  them  the 
regard  and  reverence  which  Jehovah  deserves  from  every- 
one. Two  instances  of  the  manner  in  which  Jehovah's 
name  may  be  profaned — that  is,  treated  with  discourtesy — 
are  given  in  Leviticus  19.  12 ;  20.  3.  It  should  be  noted  too 
that  the  Jewish  people  themselves  are  similarly  holy :  from 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  JEWISH  LAW    189 

all  nations  they  have  been  separated  to  serve  the  holy 
Jehovah  (19.  2;  20.  7,  26). 

The  Peiestly  Code 

About  the  year  500  B.  C.  another  collection,  or  formu- 
lation, of  Jewish  law  was  made,  quite  probably  among  the 
Babylonian  Jews.  This  group  of  laws  was  set  in  a  his- 
torical framework  designed  to  relate  the  origin  of  Jewish 
religious  rites  and  institutions.  The  purpose  of  this  work, 
like  the  Holiness  Code,  was  to  win  the  favor  and  protection 
of  Jehovah  by  raising  up  a  holy  people  in  whose  midst  he 
could  dwell.  It  is  not  easy  to  fix  precisely  the  limits  of 
this  code.  Undoubtedly  additions  were  made  to  it  at  least 
during  the  next  one  hundred  years.  This  priestly  writing, 
with  its  additions,  however,  is  sharply  enough  set  apart 
from  other  Pentateuchal  material.  Exodus  25  to  31  is  a 
part  of  this  Priestly  Code.  This  section  narrates  the  erec- 
tion of  an  elaborate  building  for  worship  in  the  wilder- 
ness which  was  moved  from  place  to  place  by  the  Israelites 
in  their  journeyings.  If  such  a  place  of  worship  was  con- 
structed, it  is  strange  that  the  books  of  Samuel  and  Kings, 
which  sketch  the  history  of  the  Hebrews  from  the  time 
of  the  judges  to  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  by  the 
Babylonians,  make  no  mention  of  this  Tabernacle.  Neither 
do  the  prophets  refer  to  it  in  any  way.  The  worship  of 
the  Hebrews  during  all  these  centuries  was  not  the  wor- 
ship such  a  structure  required.  The  author  of  the 
Priestly  Code  regarded  this  Tabernacle  as  the  only  place 
where  Jehovah  was  to  be  worshiped  (Exodus  25.  8,  22  and 
29.  42),  and  Aaron  and  his  descendants  to  be  the  only 
legitimate  persons  to  offer  sacrifice  (29.  44).  But  our 
studies  have  shown  that  until  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem 
in  586  B.  C.  Jehovah  was  worshiped  at  many  sanctuaries, 
and  that  no  voice  was  lifted  in  condemnation  of  such  wor- 
ship until  Josiah  carried  through  his  reforms  in  621 
B.  C.  Nor  was  the  offering  of  sacrifice  limited  to  the 
Aaronic  line.  It  was  not  even  the  affair  of  priests  alone. 
Thus,  at  every  turn  the  student  is  met  by  the  fact  that  the 
actual  worship  of  the  Hebrews  for  many  centuries  was 


190  THE  RELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

not  the  worship  required  by  the  Tabernacle  described  in 
Exodus  25-31,  40.  The  conclusion  seems  reasonable  that 
the  Tabernacle  described  by  the  author  of  the  Priestly 
Code  was  his  way  of  expressing  an  ideal  of  worship  for  his 
own  time.  His  contemporaries  must  have  so  understood 
him.  Our  confusion  in  the  matter  could  scarcely  have 
been  theirs. 

Exodus  35-40  also  belong  to  this  code,  but  they  add 
little  to  what  is  found  in  the  previous  chapters.  Leviticus 
1-16  and  27,  together  with  Numbers  1-10;  15.  1-36;  16. 
35;  19;  25.  6  to  36,  include  nearly  the  whole  of  the  Pen- 
tateuchal  legislation  belonging  to  the  Priests'  Code. 

The  Code  Inteoducbd  by  Ezra 

While  the  precise  limits  of  the  legislation  introduced 
by  Ezra  are  not  known,  the  two  codes  examined  above 
must  have  constituted  the  new  body  of  laws  now  formally 
adopted  by  the  Jewish  community.  The  Holiness  Code, 
accepted  by  the  author  or  compiler  of  the  Priests'  Code, 
already  was  imbedded  in  the  heart  of  the  later  document. 

Not  long  after  Ezra's  mission  ended,  the  whole  Pen- 
tateuch took  the  form  in  which  we  have  it  now.  Accord- 
ing to  Josephus,  the  only  Jewish  historian  who  fixes  a 
date  for  the  separation  of  the  Samaritans  from  the  Jews, 
this  event  took  place  at  the  time  of  Alexander  the  Great's 
invasion  of  Syria,  about  330  B.  C.  Since  the  Samaritans 
possess  the  Jewish  Pentateuch,  the  completion  of  the 
canon  of  the  law  occurred  long  enough  before  this  date 
to  give  it  sanctity  in  the  eyes  of  the  schismatics.  There- 
fore, the  priestly  conception  of  religion,  the  essential  char- 
acteristic of  Judaism,  was  fixed  little  later  than  Ezra. 
Indeed,  one  may  think  of  Ezra  as  having  completed  what 
Ezekiel  had  begun:  the  establishment  of  a  theocratic  peo- 
ple in  whose  midst  the  residence  of  their  holy  Jehovah  was 
secured  by  an  elaborate  system  of  holy  ritual. 

The  Meaning  of  Holiness 

Holiness  and  Uncleanness. — In  primitive  religion  little 
distinction  is  made  between  holiness  and  uncleanness.  Ee- 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  JEWISH  LAW    191 

ligious  persons,  priests,  chief  or  king,  and  those  in  some 
temporarily  unique  relation  to  society — for  example, 
mourners,  mothers  at  childbirth,  warriors  on  a  campaign, 
girls  at  pubertal  age,  homicides,  lepers — have  imposed 
upon  them  the  same  restrictions.  There  is  something 
mysterious  about  them.  Ordinary  people  shrink  from 
them.  Close  association  with  their  fellows  would  bring 
others  into  the  same  weird,  uncanny,  and  dreadful  condi- 
tion. Such  persons  are  dangerous:  they  must  be  secluded 
from  the  rest  of  the  world;  they  are  taboo. 

This  principle  underlies  much  of  the  priestly  legisla- 
tion. Leviticus  10.  10  thus  correlates  holiness  and  un- 
cleanness.  The  opposite  of  holiness  is  the  common,  and 
the  antithesis  of  the  unclean  is  the  clean.  Leviticus  6. 
27,  28  shows  clearly  this  intimate  connection  of  holiness 
and  uncleanness.  The  flesh  and,  especially,  the  blood  of 
the  sin  offering  are  holy.  But  the  earthen  vessel  in  which 
this  flesh  has  been  placed  must  be  broken,  and  any  garment 
touched  by  this  sacred  blood  must  be  washed.  The  holi- 
ness of  jar  and  dress  becomes  their  uncleanness. 

Thus,  holiness  in  its  earliest  usage  has  no  moral  signifi- 
cance ;  it  means  merely  that  the  person  or  the  thing  counted 
holy  is  restricted  from  common  use. 

The  Contagion  of  Holiness. — Holiness  in  the  foregoing 
sense  is  contagious.  It  is  a  mysterious  power  that  passes 
by  contact  back  and  forth  between  persons  and  things. 
Eead  Leviticus  6.  25-30,  which  describes  the  ritual  of  the 
sin  offering  for  offenses  in  which  the  priests  were  not  in- 
volved. The  animal  presented  for  such  sacrifice  is  most 
holy.  Whatever  touches  such  flesh  becomes  holy  by  virtue 
of  this  contact.  Leviticus  6.  11,  18  expresses  the  same 
idea.  Uncleanness  also  is  contagious  (16.  15-19).  Holi- 
ness, like  uncleanness,  unfits  one  for  the  ordinary  activities 
of  life;  it  is  something  to  be  guarded  and  to  be  guarded 
against. 

Holiness  and  Perfection. — Holiness  expresses  the  reser- 
vation of  a  thing  or  person  for  the  use  of  deity.  It  thus 
includes  the  idea  of  separation  from  the  ordinary  activi- 
ties.    It  is  an  easy  transfer  from  this  point  to  the  idea 


192  THE  RELTGIOX  OF  JUDAH 

that  persons  and  things  set  apart  for  divine  use  should 
be  the  best  (Leviticus  7.  25).  Since  any  person  who  had 
become  unclean  was  barred  temporarily  from  contact  with 
his  fellows,  it  followed  that  such  a  one  should  not  approach 
the  sanctuary  (7.  21).  These  ideals  are  the  moral  turn- 
ing point  in  the  priestly  conceptions  of  holiness.  Jehovah 
requires  the  best  to  serve  him:  physically  perfect  priests 
and  offerings.  It  was  from  this  stage  of  thinking  that 
Isaiah  and  the  prophets  took  their  lofty  departure,  and 
even  priestly  legislation  thereafter  could  not  wholly  ignore 
the  moral  meaning  of  holiness. 

Holiness  and  Morality. — It  was  the  primary  object  of 
the  author  and  compiler  to  fence  Jewish  life  with  such 
provisions  for  worship  that  no  other  deity  than  Jehovah 
should  be  adored,  and  none  other  than  Jewish  rites 
should  be  used.  It  was  believed  that  such  strict  and  rev- 
erential worship  through  a  jealously  guarded  and  con- 
ducted sacrificial  system  would  win,  in  behalf  of  the  Jewish 
state,  Jehovah's  unfailing  favor.  Therefore,  the  greater  at- 
tention was  paid  to  the  ritual  of  worship.  Yet  this  exces- 
sive emphasis  of  the  cultus  did  not  wholly  obscure  the  moral 
meaning  of  holiness.  The  preaching  of  the  great  prophets 
was  not  wholly  forgotten.  Leviticus  5.  4-6;  6.  2-7;  and 
chapter  19  inculcate  some  of  the  fundamental  principles 
whose  observance  is  necessary  to  achieve  a  stable  civil- 
ization. It  should  be  noted,  also,  that  an  injustice  done 
one's  fellow  man  is  not  merely  a  wrong  done  to  a  fellow 
mortal:  it  is  also  a  sin  against  Jehovah.  It  is  a  viola- 
tion of  the  very  laws  of  the  universe ;  it  is  an  affront  against 
God.  To  harm  a  neighbor  thus  becomes  a  tragedy  that 
shakes  the  universe.  The  man  who  withholds  the  wages 
of  an  employee  must  reckon  with  God. 

SUMMAKY 

Ezra's  contributions  to  the  religious  life  of  his  people 
were  great  indeed.  He  brought  large  reenforcements  of 
zealous,  pious  Jews  out  of  Babylonia  and  added  them  to 
the  struggling  Jewish  community  in  Judah.  He  brought 
to  Jerusalem  a  code  of  laws,  some  new  and  some  old,  de- 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  JEWISH  LAW    193 

signed  to  secure  the  presence  of  Jehovah  in  the  midst  of 
his  people.  More  than  any  other  person  he  contributed 
to  the  development  of  that  Judaism  which  weathered  the 
persecutions  of  Persian,  Greek,  and  Roman,  and  which, 
in  the  New  Testament,  becomes  the  starting  point  of 
Christianity.  Ezra  was  the  chief  founder  of  Judaism — 
that  empire  of  the  spirit  which,  however  much  it  is  ex- 
pressed in  ceremonial  laws,  was  able  to  survive  the  destruc- 
tion of  political  states  and  which  has  survived  until  our 
own  day. 

Underlying  every  theory  offered  to  explain  the  origin 
and  meaning  of  sacrifices  is  the  fact  that  man  in  and 
through  them  sought  to  relate  himself  more  acceptably 
to  God.  First  fruits  and  animal  sacrifices  alike  were 
intended  to  insure  for  man  a  greater  divine  aid.  In  the 
code  introduced  into  the  Jewish  community  in  Palestine 
by  Ezra  the  slain  animals  were  not  regarded  as  substitutes 
for  sinful  men  and  women.  There  was  yet  no  concep- 
tion of  man's  eternal  death  or  punishment  to  create  the 
demand  for  a  vicarious  substitute.  The  ideas  of  the  here- 
after in  the  times  of  Ezra  only  faintly  differentiated  the 
lot  of  the  righteous  and  the  wicked  in  the  world  of  the 
dead.  Punishment  for  wrongdoing  was  confined  to  this 
present  life.  Various  penalties — such  as  fines,  expulsion 
from  the  nation,  and  death — were  exacted  from  the 
guilty.  The  death  penalty  was  ordered  inflicted  for  con- 
tact with  Jehovah's  sanctuary  by  a  non-Jew  (Numbers 
3.  38),  desecration  of  the  Sabbath  (Numbers  15.  32-36), 
blasphemy  (Leviticus  24.  16),  human  sacrifice  to  Mo- 
lech  (20.  2-5),  witchcraft  (20.  27),  bestiality  (20.  15), 
harlotry  (21.  9),  sodomy  (20.  13),  incest  (20.  11-14), 
adultery  (20.  10),  and  murder  (24.  17).  Since  punish- 
ment for  evil  was  regarded  as  being  complete  in  this  life, 
and  since  these  lawgivers  did  not  set  aside  the  death 
penalty  for  certain  crimes  against  the  social  order  by  any 
scheme  of  sacrifice,  it  is  evident  that  animals  slain  in 
sacrifice  were  not  regarded  as  vicarious  substitutes  for 
man.  This  limitation  of  the  sacrificial  system  is  further 
emphasized  by  the  statements  "that  woman  shall  bear  her 


194  THE  RELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

iniquity''  (Numbers  5.  31)  and  "his  iniquity  shall  be  upon 
him"  (15.  31). 

But  whatever  the  need  and  excellence  of  Judaism,  it 
must  be  held  that  this  legal  religion  is  a  distinct  retro- 
gression from  the  prophetic  ideal.  The  highest  piety 
does  not  now  demand  an  immediate  consciousness  of  God 
revealing  continually  his  will;  the  ideal  now  is  loyalty  to 
a  law.  The  immediate  relation  to  God  is  gone.  This 
priestly  law  also  set  equal  value  upon  ceremonial  and 
moral  actions.  Such  valuation  of  moral  conduct  ends  in 
the  ruin  of  ethical  life.  If  salvation  depends  on  obser- 
vance of  this  law,  it  follows  that  salvation  belongs  to  Jews 
alone.  Thus,  at  every  turn  this  new  legal  religion  is  op- 
posed to  the  ethical  religion  of  the  prophets.  It  would  not 
have  been  tolerated  by  an  Amos,  a  Hosea,  an  Isaiah,  or 
a  Jeremiah. 

Bridges  From  the  Past  to  the  Present 

Is  it  enough  to  be  sincere  and  good  ?  No  kingdom  build- 
ing is  possible  without  sincerity;  but  sincerity  can  tear 
down  as  well  as  build  up.  These  Jewish  legalists  were 
sincere,  but  they  reached  back  into  the  past  and  brought 
again  to  first  importance  in  religion  conceptions  that 
the  prophets  had  done  their  best  to  make  forever  impotent. 
With  sincerity  must  go  the  unceasing  effort  to  understand 
what  will  make  the  highest  contributions  to  life.  No  man 
or  age  can  travel  forward  worthily  that  faces  the  past 
adoringly. 

Yet  no  man  or  age  ever  is  wholly  bad.  These  legalists 
have  insisted  upon  the  supreme  obligation  of  religion — 
namely,  "Be  ye  holy,  for  I  am  holy."  Likeness  to  God, 
not  merely  belief  in  God,  is  the  supreme  requirement.  It 
is  not  so  important  to  believe  in  Christ  as  to  believe  like 
Christ.  When  we  begin  to  believe  his  beliefs,  there  will 
be  born  in  us  sufficient  motives  to  regenerate  the  world. 

What  is  the  value  of  ritual  in  the  development  of  life? 
Eitual  demands  no  initiative,  no  thought,  no  vision,  no 
intellectual  or  spiritual  break  with  tradition.  It  does  not 
foster  change.    It  clogs  the  progress  of  the  moral  conquest 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  JEWISH  LAW    195 

of  society.  It  decries  social  reforms  and  political  changes. 
It  lives  by  a  stand-pat  creed.  Yet  Judaism,  clinging  to 
its  ritual,  has  survived  nineteen  centuries  of  political  an- 
nihilation; and  Christian  churches,  with  strong  accentua- 
tion of  ritual,  wield  powerful  influence  to-day.  But  is 
this  influence  not  reactionary  rather  than  progressive?  Is 
it  alive  with  leadership,  or  is  it  not  rather  leaden  with  the 
weight  of  a  past  whose  curse  they  know  not  how  to  break  ? 

In  one  respect  this  priestly  legislation  was  highly 
ethical:  It  was  never  taught  that  these  animals,  slain  at 
the  altar,  were  a  substitute  for  sinful  man.  With  all  their 
regard  for  ceremony  they  never  prostituted  their  moral 
sense  to  utter  that  any  man's  guilt  could  be  wiped  away 
by  a  vicarious  death.  "Every  man  that  eateth  the  sour 
grapes,  his  teeth  shall  be  set  on  edge"  remained  a  live 
prophetic  counsel  through  all  priestly  blundering. 

These  priests  believed  that  holiness  is  contagious.  So 
it  is,  although  not  in  the  sense  described  by  them.  Ethical 
holiness  ever  tends  to  awaken  similar  sanctity  in  other 
lives.  If  you  live  by  the  holiest  ideals,  if  pure  motives 
and  noble  sympathies  govern  your  conduct,  there  is  some- 
thing infectious  in  such  manhood  and  womanhood.  The 
genuine  variety  is  not  dangerous;  it  is  beautifully  whole- 
some and  imperatively  necessary.  Get  close  to  God  and 
you  will  catch  it. 

Questions 

1.  What  is  known  of  Ezra's  personal  history?  What  was 
his  purpose  in  coming  to  Jerusalem? 

2.  Why  was  Ezra's  caravan  not  accompanied  by  a  royal 
guard? 

3.  What  criticism  is  to  be  passed  upon  Ezra's  historical 
perspective?    See  Ezra  9.  7. 

4.  What  reforms  were  accomplished  by  Ezra? 

5.  What  body  of  law  was  introduced  into  Jerusalem  by  him? 

6.  Discuss  the  origin  of  the  Holiness  Code.  State  where  it 
is  now  to  be  found.  What  purpose  moved  its  author  and  com- 
piler? 

7.  When  did  the  Priests'  Code  come  into  existence? 
Where  is  it  now  to  be  found?  What  was  its  author's  object 
in  describing  so  minutely  the  tabernacle? 

8.  What  are  holy  things  according  to  these  codes?     What 


196  THE  EELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

does  it  mean  to  profane  them?    Was  holiness  In  the  i>riestly 
sense  desirable  for  a  Jewish  merchant  or  farmer? 

9.  What  great  purpose  did  the  authors  or  compilers  of  these 
codes  have  in  mind? 

10.  Compare  the  services  rendered  to  Judaism  by  Nehemiah 
and  Ezra.  State  the  values  of  the  rebuilding  of  the  Temple, 
the  rebuilding  of  the  walls  of  Jerusalem,  and  the  introduction 
of  the  Priestly  Code  for  the  development  of  Judaism. 

Illustrative  Readings 

Ezra  and  Nehemiah:  Their  Lives  and  Times,  Rawlinson, 
pages  1-74. 

The  Books  of  the  Pentateuch,  Eiselen,  Chapter  XVIII. 

Article  "Law,"  Dictionary  of  the  Bible,  Hastings. 

Sources  of  the  Hexateuch,  Brightman.  The  Holiness  Code  is 
printed  on  pages  293-312;  the  Priests*  Code  on  pages  241- 
93,  312-35,  and  345-7. 


CHAPTER  XIX 
JOB :  A  STUDY  IN  JEWISH  PIETY 

Piety  is  essentially  faith  in  and  reverence  for  God. 
The  pious  man  is  he  whose  life,  regulated  by  a  supreme 
trust  in  a  God  of  goodness,  moves  on  through  struggle 
and  calm,  through  defeat  and  victory,  with  its  inmost 
confidence  in  the  Tightness  of  the  divine  administration  of 
the  world  unshaken.  Piety  lies  at  the  heart  of  religion. 
The  creators  of  Hebrew  religious  life  were  pious  men; 
and  our  studies  of  the  prophets,  the  postexilic  leaders  Ne- 
hemiah  and  Ezra,  and  the  authors  of  Jewish  law  have 
been  studies  in  Hebrew  piety.  But  the  book  of  Job,  with 
its  poignant  question  of  the  place  of  evil  in  Jehovah's  gov- 
ernment, raises  in  a  striking  manner  the  question  whether 
piety,  whether  religion  itself,  is  possible  in  our  world. 
It  is  a  question  that  is  never  old  and  that  has  been  raised 
at  numberless  crises  in  human  affairs. 

The  author  and  the  precise  date  of  the  book  of  Job  are 
unknown.  Previous  chapters  have  shown  a  set  of  in- 
terests that  preclude  this  philosophic  drama  from  an 
earlier  date  than  the  fourth  century  before  Christ.  The 
introduction  of  the  Priestly  Code,  with  its  assumption 
that  Israel's  failure  to  conduct  a  carefully  guarded  wor- 
ship— the  nation's  neglect  of  holiness — accounted  for  its 
great  disasters,  undoubtedly  provoked  the  line  of  thought 
found  in  Job.  The  narrow  exclusiveness  of  this  new  legal- 
ism was  met  by  the  liberal  protest  of  Euth  and  Jonah. 
The  book  of  Job  also  is  a  protest  against  this  legalistic 
piety.  Its  author  did  not  believe  that  a  holy  ritual  could 
avert  all  evil.  He  did  not  understand  the  disastrous  course 
of  his  people's  life;  he  could  find  no  explanation  of  evil 
in  the  orthodox  opinions.  But  his  faith  in  Jehovah,  un- 
impaired by  his  philosophical  confusion,  held  him  stead- 
fastly in  supreme  loyalty  to  his  God.    It  is  this  piety  that 

197 


198  THE  EELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

is  the  charm  of  Job  and  that  makes  the  book  a  rich  treas- 
ure for  the  study  and  meditation  of  every  age. 

The  Peoblem  of  the  Book  of  Job 

Pain  and  death  ever  have  seemed  to  man  needless  and 
irrational  elements  in  existence.  They  require  explana- 
tion. The  earliest  answer  of  man  to  his  own  question  of 
the  function  of  suffering  was  that  the  gods,  being  all 
powerful,  did  what  they  pleased.  Among  the  early  Baby- 
lonians all  human  misfortunes  were  traced  to  the  anger  of 
the  gods  at  some  human  deed.  But  in  the  great  majority 
of  cases,  when  misfortune  befell  men,  they  were  ignorant 
of  those  deeds  which  had  aroused  the  anger  of  the  deities. 
The  misfortune  was  the  first  intimation  of  the  transgres- 
sion. 

"May  the  wrath  of  the  heart  of  my  god  be  pacified : 
May  the  god  who  is  unknown  to  me  be  pacified. 
The  misdeed  which  I  have  done  I  know  nof 

This  is  a  typical  Babylonian  prayer.  There  is  no  moral 
relation  between  misfortune  and  human  conduct.  In 
some  unforeseen  way  the  worshiper  has  aroused  the  ill 
will  of  some  deity.  He  does  not  know  even  which  one 
among  the  many  is  offended. 

A  modified  form  of  this  conception  of  the  cause  of  mis- 
fortune is  found  in  the  earlier  Old-Testament  literature. 
In  the  midst  of  a  great  victory  over  the  Philistines  (1  Sam- 
uel 14.  43)  Saul  imposes  a  food  taboo;  Jonathan  and  his 
armor-bearer  unwittingly  break  it  and  stand  for  this  un- 
witting transgression  in  peril  of  their  life.  It  was  felt  in 
Saul's  day  that  a  violated  taboo  aroused  the  wrath  of 
deity.  Similarly  Uzzah  (2  Samuel  6.  6,  7)  violated  a 
taboo  in  touching  the  ark.  In  neither  case  was  the  pun- 
ishment involved  related  morally  to  life.  It  was  simply 
due  to  a  violation  of  divine  prerogatives. 

Time  passed,  and  this  nonethical  interpretation  of  mis- 
fortune gave  place  to  a  moral  explanation.  The  authors 
of  the  Deuteronomic  Code  believed  that  the  practice  of 
the   humanitarian   and   ritual   provisions   there    enjoined 


JOB:  STUDY  IN  JEWISH  PIETY  199 

would  be  followed  by  abundant  rains,  rich  harvests,  large 
flocks  and  herds,  and  numerous  children.  Prosperity  is 
the  reward  of  obedience,  and  calamity  is  the  punishment 
for  indifference  and  disobedience.  In  spite  of  the 
early  death  of  the  good  king  Josiah  and  the  lifelong 
afflictions  of  Jeremiah  the  doctrine  that  righteous- 
ness secures  prosperity  and  long  life  continued  to  be  the 
orthodox  doctrine  of  Israel  through  the  Exile.  Ezekiel 
(see  chapter  18)  makes  this  position  clear. 

But  with  the  restoration  of  the  Jewish  community  in 
Palestine,  the  rebuilding  of  the  Temple  and  the  walls, 
the  introduction  of  the  law,  and  the  increasing  strictness 
of  Jewish  life  it  was  still  found  that  men  righteous  ac- 
cording to  the  accepted  standards  suffered  grievous  afflic- 
tions, and  men  who  were  openly  wicked  often  prospered 
through  a  long  life.  The  question  pressed  upon  at  least 
one  reflective  soul  with  undeniable  persistence.  Why  do 
the  righteous  suffer  ?  is  the  query  of  the  book  of  Job. 

The  Orthodox  View  of  Suffering 

This  was  expressed,  first  of  all,  by  Eliphaz.  Eead  Job 
4.  7-11.  The  theory  that  all  affliction  is  the  punishment 
of  sin  is  stated  flatly  in  verse  7: 

"Eemember,  I  pray  thee,  who  ever  perished,  being  inno- 
cent? 
Or  where  were  the  upright  cut  off?'' 

What  proof  does  Eliphaz  offer  for  this  theory  that  calami- 
ties beset  the  wicked  only?  Note  first  (verse  8)  that  he 
cites  what  he  believes  to  be  an  observable  fact.  Then  (4. 
12-21)  he  argues  that  man's  position  is  so  lowly  before 
God  that  no  man  (verse  17)  is  really  righteous  according 
to  the  standard  of  deity.  Even  the  angels  are  charged 
with  folly.  Before  such  exalted  justice  and  purity  every 
man  stands  condemned.  Hence  (5.  7)  man  should  accept 
affliction  as  necessary  and  justifiable.  Thus,  Eliphaz  ex- 
plains the  causes  of  misfortune  which  do  not  fall  obviously 
under  the  rule  stated  in  4.  7,  8  by  the  theory  that  the  right- 


200  THE  RELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

eous  man  is  not  absolutely  righteous.  But  such  afflictions 
of  the  righteous  are  intended  to  awaken  a  deeper  trust 
and  loyalty  toward  God.  What  does  Eliphaz  say  he  would 
do  if  he  were  in  Job's  place?  (5.  8).  Eead  the  splendid 
lines  (5.  17-27)  in  which  Eliphaz  assures  Job  that  the 
fullest  trust  of  God  lifts  a  man  above  the  main  disasters 
of  life  and  crowns  him  with  a  ripe  and  honored  age. 

Bildad  repeats  this  argument,  but  with  more  direct 
application  to  Job's  case.  Read  8.  5,  6  for  his  brutal 
insistence  that  Job  had  sinned.  Bildad  supports  his  posi- 
tion by  an  appeal  to  the  experience  of  the  past.  There  is 
abundance  of  accumulated  evidence,  he  thinks,  that  af- 
fliction besets  the  paths  of  those  only  who  forget  God. 
Zophar  holds  the  same  view  as  the  two  former  speakers. 
He  too  exhorts  Job : 

"If  iniquity  be  in  thy  hand,  put  it  far  away  .    .    . 
Then  .    .    .  thou  shalt  forget  thy  misery  .    .    . 

And  thy  life  shall  be  clearer  than  the  noonday/* 

The  Theory  of  Discipline 

Both  Eliphaz  and  Elihu  recognize  that  the  older  view 
is  too  rigid  to  explain  the  whole  of  misfortune.  Affliction 
is  more  than  punishment:  it  is  intended  to  warn  and  re- 
strain man  from  plunging  on  recklessly  into  irretrievable 
ruin.  A  man  ought  therefore  to  rejoice  when  suffering 
comes  upon  him.  It  is  an  expression  of  God's  love  and 
care.    Thus,  Eliphaz  says  (5.  17)  : 

"Happy  is  the  man  whom  God  correcteth : 
Therefore  despise  not  thou  the  chastening  of  the  Al- 
mighty." 

Read  also  22.  21-30  and  observe  that  Eliphaz,  in  urging 
Job's  repentance,  maintains  the  opinion  that  the  misfor- 
tunes befallen  his  friend  are  God's  method  of  bringing  Job 
into  a  better  relation  with  himself.'  But  observe  too  that  he 
wavers  not  at  all  in  his  opinion  that  genuine  righteous- 
ness is  rewarded  with  honor  and  prosperity.    Examine  33. 


JOB:  STUDY  IN  JEWISH  PIETY  201 

19-28.  Here  Elihu  asserts  that  pain  is  God's  voice  to 
restrain  man  from  sinful  ways  which  lead  him  to  an 
early  death.  To  such  men  in  affliction  he  sends  his  holy 
angels  to  interpret  to  the  sufferer  the  meaning  of  his  chas- 
tisement. Then  the  afflicted  one,  recognizing  his  sin  and 
acknowledging  it,  is  restored  again  to  health.  Thus,  pain 
is  God's  messenger  in  the  discipline  of  the  soul. 

The  Theory  That  Suffering  Is  the  Triai;,  of  Faith 

While  the  prose  prologue  does  not  enter  intimately  into 
the  movement  of  the  drama,  it  does  present  an  explana- 
tion of  the  afflictions  of  the  righteous.  Eead  Job  1.  1-5  for 
a  picture  of  Job's  piety.  From  1.  6  and  2.  1  it  appears, 
in  the  author's  view,  that  Jehovah  is  a  heavenly  Monarch 
surrounded  by  a  host  of  angelic  ministers  and  that,  like 
a  Persian  prince,  he  held  certain  court  days  on  which  the 
heavenly  officials  presented  themselves  before  their  King. 
Each  of  these  officials  has  his  own  task  in  the  vast  admin- 
istration of  the  universe.  Satan  is  a  kind  of  inspector- 
general  of  our  own  planet.  Job  1.  7  indicates  the  nature 
of  his  responsibilities.  Observe  the  satisfaction  Jehovah 
takes  in  Job  (verse  8).  But  Satan  avers  that  any  man 
would  be  righteous  were  he  to  be  favored  with  Job's  pros- 
perity, and  that  no  man's  piety  really  can  be  known  until 
it  is  tested  by  the  direst  adversity.  Jehovah  does  not 
think  that  this  is  true — at  least  not  true  in  Job's  case — 
and,  to  put  the  matter  to  the  test,  gives  Satan  permission 
to  afflict  Job  except  unto  death.  In  2.  10  the  result  is 
stated.  This  theory  assumes  that  afflictions  come  upon 
the  wicked  to  punish  them,  but  those  which  befall  the 
righteous  are  a  fiery  test  to  show  the  strength  or  the 
weakness  of  their  character.  That  the  author  of  the 
book  considers  this  view  unsatisfactory  is  seen  in  the  fact 
that  this  solution  does  not  enter  into  the  thought  of  either 
Job  or  his  counselors. 

The  Agnostic  Position 
This  is  stated  first  by  Elihu.    He  says,  in  effect,  that  we 


202  THE  EELIGIOX  OF  JUDAH 

cannot  really  understand  God :  the  greatness  and  unsearch- 
ableness  of  his  ways  render  futile  any  questioning  of  his 
government.  God  is  far  removed  from  man.  One  fine 
result  from  his  remove  from  mankind  is  that  he  is  thus 
freed  from  the  necessity  of  injustice:  there  is  no  motive 
for  it,  nothing  to  be  gained  by  it  (34.  12,  13) ;  neither 
the  praise  nor  the  blame  of  men  can  affect  his  policy  (34. 
29;  35.  5-8);  he  has  no  need  to  play  favorites  (34.  17- 
20).  Elihu  does  not  admit  that  injustice  is  a  part  of  the 
divine  policy.  He  thinks  that  God's  administration  is 
just;  but  he  does  recognize  seeming  injustice  and  offers  as 
its  explanation  that  God's  far  remove  from  man  makes 
human  understanding  of  his  ways  impossible.  What  proof 
of  this  position  does  Elihu  offer?  See  36.  26-33;  37.  5-20. 
Eain,  snow,  lightning,  winds,  the  expanse  of  sky,  all  evi- 
dence the  far  remove  of  God's  life  from  human  frailty. 
It  is  absurd  to  question  or  to  murmur  at  his  administra- 
tion. We  have  so  little  in  common  with  him  that  we  can- 
not converse  with  him  (37.  19);  so  majestic  is  he  that 
"we  cannot  find  him  out"  (37.  23). 

Chapters  38  to  41  present  the  same  position — that  it  is 
impossible  to  understand  the  method  of  divine  Provi- 
dence. These  final  chapters  should  be  read  attentively. 
They  present  the  cares  and  responsibilities  of  God's  gov- 
ernment of  the  universe.  Does  this  review  of  God's  af- 
fairs belittle  the  problems  of  man?  These  speeches  of 
Jehovah  assume  the  correctness  of  Job's  contention:  that 
the  affairs  of  men  exhibit  injustice,  and  life  is  filled  with 
unexplainable  suffering.  But  when  the  "why"  is  asked, 
the  answer  is  that  there  is  no  answer :  God's  ways  are  past 
finding  out.  If  a  man  is  torn  with  a  sense  of  injustice 
in  the  world,  these  final  chapters  say  to  him,  "This  res- 
tiveness,  this  sense  of  rebellion  against  God,  is  unjustifi- 
able until  all  the  aspects  of  his  government  are  known 
to  us.  Since  in  the  nature  of  the  case  this  full  perspective 
is  impossible,  man  cannot  justly  murmur  or  condemn. 
We  may  not  have  full  knowledge  of  his  ways,  but  we  can 
trust  him,  and  in  this  trust  we  find  sanity,  strength,  and 
peace," 


JOB:  STUDY  IN  JEWISH  PIETY  203 

The  Soul  of  Job  Under  Discipline 

Job  himself,  until  his  calamities  befell  him,  had  ac- 
quiesced in  the  orthodox  theory.  Now  he  realized  that 
it  broke  down  utterly.  He  knows  that  he  is  innocent.  No 
great  sins  have  stained  his  life.  Read  16.  6-17  for  Job's 
burning  sense  of  the  injustice  done  him  on  the  theory  that 
suffering  is  the  punishment  of  sin.  Then,  too,  Job's  suf- 
fering has  opened  his  eyes  to  the  fact  that  the  wicked  are 
not  invariably  punished.  Bildad  had  asserted  (18.  5,  11, 
17,  18) : 

"The  light  of  the  wicked  shall  be  put  out. 


Terrors  shall  make  him  afraid  on  every  side. 

His  remembrance  shall  perish  from  the  earth, 

He  shall  be  driven  from  light  into  darkness 
And  chased  out  of  the  world." 

Chapter  21.  7-21  should  be  read  carefully  and  attentively. 
Observe  there  the  answer  Job  made  to  the  claim  stated  in 
the  foregoing  quotation. 

Job's  faith  falters  under  this  new  revelation  of  world 
conditions.  There  grows  upon  him  the  horrible  feeling 
that  the  world  is  not  fundamentally  just  and  moral.  He 
begins  to  feel  that  there  is  no  longer  an  argument  for 
righteousness.  Elihu  represents  Job  as  saying  despair- 
ingly and  bitterly  that  righteousness  does  not  get  a  man 
anything  (34.  9;  35.  3).  Chapter  24  should  be  carefully 
read.  Here  Job  points  out  the  ruthless  tyranny  of  men 
of  wealth  and  position  versus  (1-4,  9-12)  the  wretched 
life  of  the  poor  (5-8),  the  crimes  of  various  evildoers 
(13-17),  and  asserts  (18-25)  that  the  fate  of  these  men 
in  no  way  differs  from  the  end  of  others.  There  seems  to 
be  no  moral  government  of  the  world. 

Yet  Job  cannot  rest  in  this  awful  pessimism.  While 
he  is  sure  that  the  old  theory  breaks  down  completely  and 
while  he  is  not  able  to  put  forward  any  tenable  view  of 


204:  THE  RELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

his  own  he  cannot  feel  that  his  helplessness  to  fathom  the 
problem  is  the  end  of  the  matter.  Read  the  magnificent  out- 
burst of  faith  in  19.  23-27.  The  precise  meaning  here  may- 
be uncertain,  but  the  general  meaning  is  clear.  The  pres- 
ent, with  its  insoluble  problems,  is  not  the  end  of  the 
matter:  there  will  come  a  day  of  understanding.  Jeho- 
vah will  vindicate  Job,  but  not  only  Job:  he  will  Justify 
his  own  ways  in  the  sight  of  man.  So  Job,  although 
he  cannot  know  fully,  can  trust.  Read  the  two  short 
replies  of  Job  to  the  speeches  of  Jehovah  (40.  4,  5 ;  42.  2- 
6).  Observe  that  in  the  first  half  of  verse  3  in  chapter 
42  and  in  42.  4  Job  is  quoting  the  charge  against  him. 
He  acknowledges  that  the  ways  of  God  are  beyond  him 
and  so  far  as  the  problem  of  evil  is  concerned  acknowl- 
edges that  there  is  no  satisfactory  explanation.  But  concern- 
ing man's  practical  relation  to  the  seeming  injustice  of  the 
world  Job  discovers  that  all-confiding  trust  in  the  power 
and  wisdom  and  justice  of  God  is  sufficient  for  everyday 
life. 

The  Conduct  Inspired  by  Such  Piety 

The  book  of  Job  is  a  protest  against  the  ideal  of  right- 
eousness held  by  the  priestly  legislation.  In  the  Priests' 
Code  righteousness  primarily  is  a  right  attitude  toward 
a  ritual  of  worship;  the  ideal  of  righteousness  everywhere 
in  the  book  of  Job  is  rightness  of  human  relations.  The 
right  relation  between  men  is  here  stated  to  consist  in 
justice,  in  warm  sympathy,  in  close  bonds  of  considera- 
tion and  affection,  which  hold  society  together  in  loving 
fellowship.  Slavery  and  broad  divisions  between  rich  and 
poor  are  taken  for  granted;  but  piety  demands  that  these 
social  chasms  shall  be  bridged  with  love  and  helpfulness 
on  the  part  of  the  rich  and  strong. 

Note  the  following  catalogue  of  wicked  acts — wicked- 
ness here  is  nearly  altogether  a  ruthless  and  unsocial  deed 
— which  the  man  who  despises  God  commits.  There  are 
the  sins  denounced  by  the  Ten  Commandments:  murder, 
theft,  adultery  (24.  15,  16) ;  forms  of  theft  are  specified 
(24.  2,  3) ;  adultery  is  defined  (31.  7,  9-12) ;  miserliness 


JOB:  STUDY  IN  JEWISH  PIETY  205 

(31.  24,  25),  rejoicing  at  the  destruction  of  one's  enemy 
(31.  29),  abuse  of  power  in  dealing  with  slaves  (31.  13), 
falsehood  (31.  5),  and  deeeitfulness  (27.  4)  are  counted 
evil  deeds.  But  for  the  most  part  wickedness  is  regarded 
as  hard-heartedness  toward  the  weak  and  helpless  units 
of  society — the  orphan,  the  widow,  the  lonely  childless 
woman,  and  the  poor  laborer.  Observe  carefully  the 
wrongs  that  were  done  in  Jew'sh  society  of  this  period 
toward  the  widow  and  orphan  (22.  5-9;  24.  3,  9,  21;  31. 
16-18,  21)  :  the  last  ox  of  the  widow,  and  a  nursing  child 
from  its  mother's  breast  were  taken  away  to  satisfy  a  ruth- 
less creditor.  Note  the  sorrowful  picture  of  the  tragedies 
of  the  poor  (24.  4-12,  14;  29.  13;  31.  38,  39;  34.  28)  :  hun- 
gry and  thirsty  in  the  midst  of  abundance,  pitifully  small 
wages,  the  continual  victim  of  the  greedy  rich  and  cor- 
rupt judges,  their  last  garment  taken  in  pledge,  so  that 
they  go  about  naked  to  work,  and  naked  they  shiver  in 
sleep.  The  blind  and  lame,  the  sorrow-stricken,  the  hun- 
gry, and  the  stranger  (22.  7;  29.  15;  31.  32)  have  no  con- 
sideration shown  them.  It  is  this  unhumaritarian  greed 
of  power  and  wealth,  this  terrible  breach  of  human  fellow- 
ship which  riches  so  often  create,  these  yawning  social 
chasms  in  democracy,  which  mark  the  lack  of  piety  in 
human  hearts.  Once  only  is  wickedness  an  irregularity  of 
worship:  The  man  who  turns  aside  from  Jehovah  to  re- 
vere the  solar  and  lunar  divinities  (31.  26-28)  is  given 
over  to  iniquity.  But  the  interest  here  is  almost  wholly 
an  affair  of  social  ethics.  What  constitutes  right- 
eousness? Social  justice  (29.  14).  What  is  piety?  It 
is  that  faith  in  God  and  reverence  for  his  chax-acter  and 
will  which  uphold  man  as  a  just  and  loving  brother  of  his 
fellow  men. 

Making  Friends  With  Job 

What  is  the  place  of  piety  in  religion  ?  There  is  a  vast 
emphasis  in  religious  circles  upon  social  ethics  as  the  test 
of  religious  faith  and  devotion.  There  is  a  danger  to 
religion  in  pressing  social  reforms.  It  is  quite  possible  to 
forget  the  far-off   issues   in   the   tragic   shadows   of  the 


206  THE  RELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

present  hour.  But  when  the  distant  interests,  the  issues  of 
that  unseen  to-morrow,  are  forgotten,  the  motive  to  correct 
the  abuses  of  to-day  fades  in  the  soul.  Now,  piety  is  the 
root  of  religion;  it  is  essentially  faith  in  God.  Unless 
religion  is  first  of  all  a  deathless  devotion,  a  holy  lifting 
of  the  soul  unto  God  to  know  his  will  and  to  rejoice  in 
his  fellowship,  social  religion  is  shorn  of  its  life.  Piety 
is  the  beating  heart  of  religious  belief,  of  religious  insti- 
tutions, of  religious-social  ideals.  Do  not,  I  beg  of  you, 
cease  to  keep  your  religion  fervid  with  prayer  and  medita- 
tion. 

Thus,  piety's  contribution  to  life  is  measureless  indeed. 
The  world  demands  from  us  a  ceaseless  struggle.  Crush- 
ing burdens  are  laid  on  many  lives.  Again  and  again 
have  tortured  men  and  women,  having  lost  the  heart  to 
breast  the  pitiless  storm  of  poverty,  sickness,  and  besetting 
sin,  ceased  to  struggle  and  sought  the  shadows  of  the  grave. 
There  is  only  one  unfailing  source  of  spiritual  power.  To 
possess  the  soul  with  the  sense  of  mastery,  so  that  it  rises 
birdlike  above  life's  ills,  is  the  gift  alone  of  undaunted 
trust  in  God. 

The  faith  of  Job — what  wonder  is  it  that  it  is  spoken 
of  throughout  the  world !  What  a  faith  it  was !  To  turn 
away  from  the  legalistic  piety  of  his  day;  to  deny  the  or- 
thodox explanations;  to  venture  into  the  untra versed 
realms  of  thought;  to  find,  at  last,  in  God  no  explanation 
but  silence ;  and  then  to  trust,  to  believe  that  God,  although 
he  vouchsafed  no  justification  of  his  ways  to  man,  yet 
ruled  justly:  this  is  faith — ^wonderful,  glorious,  and  re- 
deeming. 

Job's  friends  teach  us  the  mockery  of  some  of  our  friend- 
ships. Does  our  friendship  for  others  mean  this  shallow, 
undiscerning,  unsympathetic  criticism  offered  as  superior 
advice?  No  friendship  is  genuine  unless  it  is  an  open 
gateway  between  human  souls.  Through  this  unbarred 
passage  we  enter  each  other's  life  and  become  comrades. 
It  is  impossible  to  misunderstand,  to  carp,  to  disparage,  to 
condemn.  To  sit  in  judgment  on  one's  friend  is  to  draw 
the  sword  against  oneself.     Oh,  for  multiplied  myriads  of 


JOB:  STUDY  IN  JEWISH  PIETY  207 

human  friendships  to  radiate  the  world  with  trust,  love, 
beautiful  words,  and  gracious  deeds ! 

Again,  we  find  that  the  prophetic  type  of  religion  reaches 
the  heights.  Legalistic  piety  gropes  in  darkness.  The 
rosy  dawn  haloes  the  brow  of  Job.  He  is  a  prophet's  soul. 
He  speaks  to  God  face  to  face;  he  needs  no  intermediary. 
With  clean  conscience  he  clutches  the  skirts  of  the  Infi- 
nite One  and  asks  for  audience.  Make  way  for  him;  he 
has  an  appointment  with  God. 

Questions  for  Study 

1.  When  was  the  book  of  Job  written?  To  what  class  of 
literature  does  it  belong?  What  great  question  does  it  seek 
to  answer? 

2.  What  is  the  Babylonian  explanation  of  misfortune? 

3.  What  is  the  Hebrew  conception  of  suffering  in  the  period 
of  the  early  monarchy? 

4.  What  explanation  of  calamity  was  offered  by  the  Deutero- 
nomic  reformers  of  the  seventh  century? 

5.  What  was  Ezekiel's  doctrine  of  suffering?  How  long  was 
this  doctrine  held  unchallenged? 

6.  State,  by  a  quotation  from  this  book,  the  orthodox  theory 
of  suffering.  What  explanation  is  given  by  Eliphaz  to  the 
apparent  exceptions  to  the  orthodox  theory?  What  modifica- 
tions of  the  traditional  theory  are  made  by  Eliphaz  and 
Elihu? 

7.  State  the  theory  offered  in  the  prose  prologue. 

8.  What  explanation  seems  to  be  the  final  opinion  of  the 
author  of  the  book?  Does  this  answer  to  the  question  of 
why  the  righteous  suffer  contribute  to  the  development  of 
piety? 

9.  What  is  the  Christian  explanation  of  the  presence  of 
evil  in  the  world?  What  is  the  Christian  teaching  on  the 
problem  of  the  book  of  Job? 

10.  In  what  way  does  belief  in  Satan  contribute  to  the 
solution  of  the  problem? 

11.  To  what  extent  did  belief  in  immortality  with  rewards 
and  punishments  contribute  to  the  author's  plea  for  trust 
in  God?    (See  3.  13-19  for  ideas  of  life  after  death.) 

12.  Since  piety  is  faith  in  and  reverence  for  God,  what  are 
the  chief  characteristics  of  God  portrayed  by  this  book? 

13.  What  is  Job's  conception  of  a  wise  man?  (28.  28). 
Commit  to  memory  this  verse. 

14.  Where  does  Job  place  the  responsibility  for  his  suffer- 
ings? 

15.  What  elements  in  Job's  piety  are  of  present-day  value? 


208  THE  RELIGION  OF  JUDAH 


References  for  Additional   Study 

Article  "Job,"  Dictionary  of  the  Bihle,  Hastings. 
The  Religion  of  Israel,  H.  P.  Smith,  pages  266-75. 
Introduction  to  the  Old  Testament,  McFadyen,  pages  264-81. 
Modern  Criticism  and  the  Preaching  of  the  Old  Testament, 
G.  A.  Smith,  pages  283-300. 
The  Theology  of  the  Old  Testament,  Davidson,  pages  466-95. 


CHAPTER  XX 
JEWISH  LIFE  IN  THE  PERSIAN  PERIOD 

That  no  nation  lives  unto  itself  alone  is  amply  illus- 
trated in  the  history  of  the  Jewish  people.  National  feel- 
ing and  action  took  their  beginnings  among  the  Hebrews 
while  they  were  living  in  Egypt.  On  their  entrance  into 
Palestine  they  were  influenced  profoundly  by  the  more 
developed  civilization  of  the  Canaanites.  Phoenicia  and 
Damascus  lay  close  along  the  borders  of  the  northern 
kingdom,  and  they  continued  to  influence  Hebrew  political 
and  religious  life  until  they  were  supplanted  by  Assyria. 
The  Babylonians  took  many  Jews  captive,  and  preceding 
chapters  have  shown  how  greatly  the  development  of  Jew- 
ish religion  is  indebted  to  these  exiles. 

In  538  B.  C.  the  Persians  fell  heir  to  the  vast  empire 
of  the  Babylonians  and  Assyrians,  and  Cyrus  and  his  suc- 
cessors swayed  the  East  until  they  in  turn  succumbed  to  a 
more  virile  civilization.  For  approximately  two  hundred 
years  the  Jews  were  struggling  to  achieve  their  destiny 
under  the  suzerainty  of  these  Aryans.  It  will  be  recalled 
that  Cyrus  made  possible  a  return  of  Babylonian  exiles 
to  Jerusalem,  that  Artaxerxes  I  nobly  acquiesced  in  the 
desires  of  his  cupbearer  Nehemiah,  and  that  Artaxerxes 
II  gave  Ezra  his  opportunity  to  stamp  legalism  upon  the 
Jerusalem  community. 

What  further  influence  upon  Jewish  life  resulted  from 
the  Persian  control  of  Palestine?  Were  the  Jews  af- 
fected directly  by  Persian  religious  ideas?  These  are 
questions  of  much  importance.  This  chapter  is  devoted  to 
their  answer. 

The  Postponement  of  the  Fulfillment  of  the  Mes- 
sianic Hope 

From  the  time  of  Isaiah  the  hope  of  a  golden  age  for 
Israel  continued  to  be  a  constant  feature  in  Jewish  life. 

209 


210  THE  EELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

This  hope  more  and  more  came  to  be  associated  with  vast 
political  disturbances  in  the  nations  and  in  the  confusion 
and  overthrow  of  those  which  held  in  check  the  political 
aspirations  of  the  Jews.  Cyrus  was  hailed  by  a  prophet 
of  the  Exile  as  Jehovah's  servant,  and  in  the  overthrow  of 
the  ancient  Semitic  Babylonia  by  the  Persians  and  the 
Medes  many  Jews  undoubtedly  believed  that  there  were  to 
be  seen  the  beginnings  of  that  universal  political  chaos 
out  of  which  the  glorious  Jewish  state  was  to  arise. 

But  the  Persian  succeeded  in  doing  what  neither  of  his 
Semitic  predecessors  in  world  empire  had  achieved. 
Darius  came  to  the  throne  in  521  B.  C.  and  during  his 
reign  he  molded  the  heterogeneous  elements  of  his  ex- 
tensive empire  into  a  compact  and  regularly  organized 
body.  The  vast  areas  subject  to  him  were  divided  into 
twenty  to  thirty  provinces — the  number  varied  from  time 
to  time — ,  and  each  was  placed  in  charge  of  a  governor,  or 
satrap.  This  official  was  responsible  for  the  collection  of 
revenue,  the  administration  of  justice,  and  the  maintenance 
of  order.  In  each  satrapy  there  were  also  a  military  com- 
mander and  a  secretary.  These  officials  too  were  appointed 
by  the  king  and  were  responsible  directly  to  him.  There 
were  numerous  military  posts,  garrisoned  except  in  rare 
cases  by  Persian  soldiers  only,  in  all  the  provinces.  The 
satrap  was  the  "eye  of  the  king.''  His  task  was  to  keep 
his  sovereign  informed  concerning  conditions  in  his  prov- 
ince. The  Persian  sovereigns  kept  in  close  communication 
with  even  the  most  distant  provinces  by  a  chain  of  cou- 
riers maintained  along  the  excellent  post  roads  throughout 
the  empire. 

Under  such  a  system  Jewish  expectations  of  world-wide 
political  disturbances  were  almost  wholly  crushed.  "All 
the  earth  sitteth  still,  and  is  at  rest,"  was  Zechariah's  (1. 
11)  dejected  statement.  Consequently,  the  Persian  dom- 
ination, so  systematically  organized  and  maintained,  si- 
lenced for  nearly  two  centuries  the  Jewish  expectation  that 
a  prince  of  the  house  of  David  should  sit  upon  the  throne 
of  a  gloriously  restored  and  expanded  Jewish  state.  Any 
attempt  at  Jewish  national  independence,  any  refusal  to 


JEWISH  LIFE  m  THE  PERSIAN  PERIOD  211 

pay  tribute,  any  training  of  armies,  any  plot  to  displace 
the  Persian  undergovernor  at  Jerusalem,  any  hint  at  re- 
bellion and  a  career  of  Jewish  conquest,  would  have  set 
in  motion  the  mighty  forces  of  the  Persian  Empire,  and 
Judah  would  have  been  destroyed.  No  prophet  could 
arise  to  predict  an  immediate  interference  on  the  part  of 
Jehovah.  The  Persian  was  too  securely  established.  The 
Messianic  state  had  to  wait  for  a  more  propitious  age. 

New  Devotion  to  the  Temple 

With  political  Messianism  crushed  or  held  in  abeyance 
during  the  Persian  period  pious  Jews  turned  more  ear- 
nestly to  the  Temple  and  its  services.  We  have  studied 
already  Nehemiah's  establishment  of  an  elaborate  Temple 
ritual  and  the  extensive  sacrificial  system  inaugurated  by 
Ezra.  But  in  addition  to  the  new  devotion  to  the  idea 
of  atonement  through  sacrifice  the  religious  aspirations 
of  Judaism  also  expressed  themselves  in  a  considerable 
amount  of  devotional  literature.  This  literature  of  devo- 
tion, being  set  to  music,  was  introduced  into  the  services 
of  the  Temple.  The  result  was  to  diminish  the  crass 
effect  of  the  sacrifices  and  to  rally  about  the  Temple  many 
for  whom  the  sacrificial  conception  of  atonement  was  in- 
sufficient or  repellent. 

Temple  Music. — Undoubtedly  music  formed  a  part  of 
the  acts  of  worship  in  Solomon's  Temple.  Since  the  chief 
services  of  religion  among  the  Hebrews  were  festivals 
of  feasting  and  general  rejoicing,  music  formed  a  part 
of  the  acts  of  worship  at  all  the  sanctuaries.  Songs  and 
musical  instruments  appeared  at  these  feasts  (Isaiah  30. 
29).  So  prominent  was  this  musical  feature  in  worship 
that  Amos  (5.  23)  uses  it  to  symbolize  the  whole  sacri- 
ficial system  which  he  denounced :  "Take  thou  away  from 
me  the  noise  of  thy  songs ;  for  I  will  not  hear  the  melody 
of  thy  viols.''  The  Temple  at  Jerusalem  undoubtedly 
continued  this  custom  until  the  city  was  sacked  by  the 
Babylonians.  After  the  Deuteronomic  reform  the  serv- 
ices at  Jerusalem  naturally  assumed  greater  importance 
and  undoubtedly  became  more  elaborate.    Probably  in  the 


212  THE  RELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

closing  years  of  the  southern  kingdom  is  to  be  placed  the 
beginning  of  the  custom  of  using  professionally  trained 
musicians  in  the  religious  services.  No  certain  descrip- 
tions of  these  arrangements  for  music  have  come  down  to 
us.  We  cannot  be  sure  what  songs  they  sang  and  we  are 
only  partially  aware  of  what  instruments  were  used. 

The  matter  becomes  more  clear  after  the  Exile.  At  the 
time  of  Nehemiah's  second  visit  to  Jerusalem  (Nehemiah 
13.  10)  there  was  a  numerous  company  of  professional 
singers  who,  because  of  lack  of  financial  support, 
had  gone  to  farming.  Nehemiah  restored  the  payment  of 
tithes  and  recalled  the  Temple  musicians  to  their  tasks. 
Evidently  a  considerable  use  of  music  in  the  services  of 
the  Temple  was  a  well-established  feature  in  his  time. 
It  is  probable  that  at  the  completion  of  the  second  Temple 
musical  elements  on  a  more  elaborate  scale  became  a  regu- 
lar feature  of  the  Temple  ritual.  When  Ezra  arrived  with 
the  new  law,  and  under  his  leadership  the  sacrificial  ele- 
ments in  the  ritual  were  greatly  expanded,  music  already 
was  thoroughly  established  as  a  large  and  integral  element 
in  the  services  of  the  Temple. 

The  Temple  musicians  associated  themselves  together  in 
guilds.  The  earliest  whose  names  have  come  down  to  us 
were  the  "children  of  AsapV  (Ezra  2.  41),  "sons  of  Korah'' 
(Psalm  42),  and  the  "sons  of  Jeduthun'*  (1  Chronicles 
25.  1).  The  members  of  these  guilds  were  both  players  of 
instruments  and  singers.  They  accompanied  the  daily 
burnt  offering  and  all  other  of  the  more  solemn  services 
with  singing.  They  were  their  own  accompanists.  The 
instruments  commonly  used  were  cymbals;  the  nebel,  or 
psalter;  and  the  kinnor,  or  harp.  The  latter  two  were 
stringed  instruments.  The  tunes  were  taken  from  old 
popular  songs  sung  at  weddings,  harvests,  and  vintages. 

Hymnbooks  of  the  Temple. — During  the  Persian  period 
the  process  of  collecting,  editing,  and  composing  songs  for 
the  services  of  the  Temple,  if  not  begun  at  this  period, 
was  greatly  stimulated  by  the  need  felt  for  a  more  spirit- 
ual religion  than  that  involved  in  the  sacrificial  system. 
The  strict  legalists  themselves  felt  the  need  of  this  music, 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  THE  PERSIAN  PERIOD  213 

and  the  more  spiritually  minded  found  in  the  hymns  an 
outlet  for  their  longings.  The  first  Jewish  hymnbook  was 
issued  about  the  time  of  Nehemiah  or  Ezra.  It  was  com- 
posed of  Psalms  3-41,  with  the  possible  exception  of 
Psalm  33.  Psalms  51-72,  with  a  few  possible  exceptions 
(for  example,  Psalm  60),  were  a  second  collection  made 
during  the  continuation  of  the  Persian  rule.  The  Asaphite 
Psalms  (50,  73-83)  and  the  Korahite  collection  (43-49), 
although  containing  Psalms  of  the  Persian  period,  were 
not  assembled  until  after  the  Jews  had  passed  through  the 
deep  waters  of  Greek  persecution.  \ 

These  two  hymnbooks  of  the  Persian  period  contained 
Psalms  written  earlier  than  the  time  at  which  they  found 
their  way  into  the  Psalter.  But  their  collection  and  use 
indicate  the  religious  spirit  of  the  period  and  reflect  in- 
directly the  Persian  subjugation  of  Jewish  national  life. 

While  the  dating  of  individual  Psalms  is  exceedingly 
difficult,  and  while  there  is  much  difference  of  opinion 
concerning  the  dates  of  nearly  all  the  Psalms,  it  does  add 
to  the  interest  of  a  Psalm  to  be  able  to  attach  it  to  some 
definite  historical  setting  in  Israelis  life.  Examine 
Psalms  6,  6,  10,  12,  13,  17,  and  22.  These  poems  express 
the  distress  of  pious  Jews  at  the  hands  of  worldly  and 
arrogant  leaders  in  their  own  community.  But  in  the 
midst  of  suffering  unjustly  afflicted  their  faith  in  Jehovah 
sustains  them,  and  they  believe  that  he  will  break  the 
arm  of  the  evildoer  and  the  wicked.  Read  in  connection 
with  these  Psalms  Malachi  3.  13-18  and  consider  whether 
the  prophet's  description  of  the  dark  years  in  Judah  im- 
mediately preceding  the  advent  of  Nehemiah  is  not  a 
satisfactory  historical  setting  of  these  Psalms. 

Read  Psalms  8,  16,  29;  57.  5-11;  and  19.  7-14.  These 
Psalms  also  were  produced  in  the  Persian  period  and 
fairly  reflect  the  devotional  life,  the  type  of  piety,  which 
obtained  in  the  Judjran  community  shortly  after  the 
reforms  of  Nehemiah  and  Ezra.  They  seem  to  indicate 
that  these  reforms  were  more  or  less  permanent  and  were 
acceptable  to  the  majority.  The  dissatisfaction  and  the 
difference  of  view  expressed  in  Ruth,  Job,  and  Jonah, 


214  THE  EELIGION"  OF  JUDAH 

which  also  are  voices  of  the  Persian  period,  were  not  pro- 
nounced enough  to  shake  the  position  of  the  Temple  and 
its  services  in  the  affection  of  the  people. 

The  Last  Yeaks  of  the  Persian  Period 

Artaxerxes  III,  through  a  series  of  murders,  ascended 
the  throne  of  Persia  in  359  B.  C.  During  the  reign  of 
his  immediate  predecessors  Persian  control  of  the  empire's 
vast  territories  had  relaxed,  and  opportunity  was  given 
for  revolt.  Egypt  threw  off  the  Persian  yoke,  and  the 
Phoenicians  followed  the  Egyptian  example.  It  is  prob- 
able that  Judah,  as  of  old,  was  enamoured  by  the  possi- 
bility of  independence  and  refused  the  Persian  tribute. 
Phoenicia  and  Egypt  were  defeated  and  punished  with 
the  utmost  cruelty.  The  citizens  of  Sidon  to  the  number 
of  forty  thousand  shut  themselves  in  their  houses  and  set 
fire  to  their  city  rather  tlian  trust  themselves  to  the  cruel 
tortures  of  the  Persian  monarch.  In  Egypt,  Artaxerxes 
demolished  the  walls  of  cities,  plundered  the  temples,  and, 
leaving  garrisons  to  hold  the  country  in  subjection,  with- 
drew with  immense  booty.  From  Josephus  it  is  evident 
that  a  Persian  force  under  Bagoas,  one  of  the  generals  of 
Artaxerxes,  severely  chastised  Jerusalem  for  its  part  in 
the  revolt.  Many  Jews  were  taken  captive  and  sold  into 
slavery.  Others  were  transported  to  the  province  of  Hyr- 
cania,  to  the  south  of  the  Caspian  Sea. 

This  tragic  event  in  Jewish  history  has  left  its  mark 
in  the  book  of  Joel.  Verses  9-17  in  chapter  three  exhibit 
the  spirit  in  which  Judah  dared  to  throw  aside  the  Per- 
sian yoke.  The  spirit  of  nationalism  and  Messianic  hope 
were  awakened  once  more  by  the  changing  political  events. 
The  power  of  Persia  seemed  broken  by  the  Egyptian  re- 
volt. It  might  well  have  seemed  to  the  fervid  religionists 
at  Jerusalem  that  the  long-waited  day  of  Jehovah's  de- 
liverance had  come.  Verses  4-8  are  a  fragment  expressing 
the  rude  and  cruel  awakening  from  these  dreams.  The 
Persians  came,  and  part  of  the  punishment  was  the  de- 
spoliation of  the  Temple.  Phoenician  merchants  became 
the  ready  buyers  of  Jewish  captives  and  such  plunder  as 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  THE  PEKSIAN  PERIOD  215 

the  Persians  were  ready  to  sell.  Possibly  some  of  the 
Psalms  were  born  in  this  time  of  bitter  humiliation.  But 
none  can  be  placed  at  this  period  with  absolute  certainty. 

Other  Results  From   Contact  With   the  Persians 

Persian  officials,  soldiers,  couriers,  and  merchants  were 
common  in  every  part  of  the  domains  subject  to  the  suc- 
cessors of  Cyrus.  The  Jews  living  in  various  parts  of 
the  empire  were  brougJit  into  close  contact  with  Persian 
life.  In  the  Elephantine  papyri  there  is  a  record  of  a 
suit  at  law  between  Mahseiah,  a  Jew,  and  Dargman,  a 
Persian.  Official  documents  prepared  by  Jews  at  Elephan- 
tine, an  island  in  the  Nile,  and  addressed  to  "Our  Lord 
Arsham,''  the  Persian  satrap  of  Egypt,  are  still  extant. 
There  has  been  found  also  a  petition  by  the  Jews  of  the 
same  city  addressed  to  Bagohi,  the  Persian  governor  of 
Judah,  who,  in  the  absence  of  Arsham  from  Egypt,  au- 
thorized the  Jews  at  Elephantine  to  rebuild  their  Temple 
to  Jehovah,  which  had  been  destroyed. 

There  is  every  warrant  for  believing  that  the  religious 
ideas  of  the  Persians  penetrated  into  all  districts  reached 
by  their  political  and  military  authority.  In  those  com- 
munities where  Persian  religious  ideas  were  more  ad- 
vanced than  the  native  religions  there  is  every  reason  to 
suppose  that  they  were  not  without  influence  upon  the 
subject  peoples. 

During  the  period  under  discussion  (538-322  B.  C.) 
Persian  religious  conceptions  in  some  particulars  showed 
more  reflection  and,  therefore,  were  more  satisfactory  than 
were  the  Jewish.  This  is  true  especially  of  their  beliefs 
concerning  life  after  death.  The  Jews  at  this  time  held 
the  views  on  the  subject  which  were  common  to  all  the 
Semitic  East.  Beneath  the  earth  was  an  abode  for  all 
the  dead.  Into  this  vast  cavern  good  and  bad  went  indis- 
criminately. See  Isaiah  14  and  Ezekiel  32.  18-32.  There 
was  no  teaching  of  retribution  after  death  and  no  release 
from  this  gloomy  underworld.  Job.  3.  13-19  and  14.  10- 
12  express  the  same  notion.     If  the  author  of  Job  raises 


216  THE  RELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

the  question  of  a  happier  immortality  (14.  14),  the  idea 
is  held  as  a  faint  hope. 

Zoroastrianism,  the  religion  of  the  Persians,  had  clearly 
outlined  beliefs  concerning  the  invisible  life.  Individuals 
at  death  were  judged,  and  their  destiny  was  determined 
according  to  their  thoughts,  words,  and  actions  in  the 
present  life.  The  good  passed  at  once  into  the  heavenly 
abode,  and  the  bad  were  cast  down  into  hell.  At  the  end 
of  the  world  was  to  come  a  final  judgment.  The  bodies 
of  the  dead  were  to  be  raised  and  reunited  with  the  spirits 
who  once  had  tenanted  them.  The  great  and  final  judg- 
ment then  took  place.  All  evil  was  then  to  be  destroyed, 
and  the  earth  was  to  be  renewed  for  the  abode  of  the 
righteous. 

To  what  extent  did  this  Persian  eschatology  influence 
Judaism?  In  Daniel  12.  13  two  characteristic  Persian 
ideas  appear.  By  this  passage  there  is  taught  a  resurrec- 
tion of  righteous  and  wicked  and  a  final  judgment  follow- 
ing the  resurrection.  But  this  resurrection  and  judg- 
ment are  limited.  They  do  not  apply  to  all  mankind; 
they  do  not  even  include  all  Jews.  It  is  possible  that  in 
the  teaching  of  Daniel,  Judaism  began  to  be  formally 
responsive  to  the  Persian  conception  of  the  last  things. 
In  the  second  and  first  centuries  before  the  Christian  era 
a  well-developed  eschatology  that  almost  completely  par- 
alleled the  Persian  doctrine  appeared  in  the  Palestinian 
apocryphal  literature.  The  conclusion  is  inevitable  that 
Persian  ideas  of  the  last  things  met  a  sympathetic  response 
in  the  harassed  Judsean  community,  and  that  the  more 
pious  were  stimulated  by  these  foreign  notions  to  develop 
their  primitive  eschatology  into  a  likeness  of  Persian  doc- 
trine and  unite  it  with  their  Messianic  hopes. 

Practically  the  same  course,  though  in  a  lesser  degree, 
was  taken  by  the  development  of  the  ideas  of  Satan,  angels, 
a  heavenly  court  surrounding  God,  and  the  spiritual  rulers 
acting  as  satraps  of  Jehovah  in  the  government  of  non- 
Jewish  peoples.  The  ideas  of  nations  being  ruled  by 
heavenly  princes  as  underlords  of  Jehovah  (Daniel  9.  21, 
10.  13,  18-21)  seem  to  have  been  modeled  from  the  form 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  THE  PERSIAN  PERIOD  217 

of  government  of  the  Persian  Empire.  The  same  concep- 
tion appears  in  Psalm  82.  These  spiritual  beings — demi- 
gods, they  might  be  called — appear  in  other  Psalms  (for 
example,  86.  8;  95.  3;  138.  1),  against  whose  high  estate  is 
manifested  by  contrast  the  greater  glory  of  Jehovah. 

Summary 

Continued  study  of  the  past  makes  ever  more  clear  that 
in  those  far-off  days,  as  in  the  present  time,  no  nation 
lived  unto  itself.  After  the  Exile  the  community  in  Jeru- 
salem was  guided  by  a  succession  of  pious  leaders,  who  did 
their  utmost  to  break  the  contact  of  Jews  with  foreigners 
and  to  exclude  from  Judaism  non-Jewish  ideas.  But 
when  the  day  came  that  the  appointment  of  the  high 
priests  was  in  the  hands  of  Persian  officials,^  it  is  easy  to 
understand  that  foreigners  in  Palestine,  in  the  long  run, 
directly  and  indirectly  influenced  the  development  of  Jew- 
ish religion. 

The  Persians  made  possible  the  rebuilding  of  the  Tem- 
ple and  the  city;  they  permitted  the  return  of  influential 
Jews  to  the  land  of  their  fathers;  their  tolerance  made 
possible  a  fairly  prosperous  Jewish  community  in  Pales- 
tine. But  their  well-established  control  of  Judah  silenced 
its  political  Messianism  and  turned  the  attention  of  the 
Palestinian  Jews  to  their  Temple.  This  strict  confinement 
of  Jewish  aspirations  to  religious  ideas  and  activities 
formed  the  setting  for  the  development  of  Jewish  law, 
for  new  attention  to  the  cultus,  and  for  the  new  passion 
for  psalmody.  Persian  political  organization  and  religious 
beliefs  more  directly  influenced  the  growth  of  Judasim 
and,  in  the  ideas  of  judgment  and  resurrection,  enriched 
Jewish  religious  life. 

MoDEEN  Inferences  From  Past  Events 

Of  what  and  by  whom  is  the  life  of  an  individual  or  a 
nation  made?  From  what  source  have  sprung  the  ideas 
that  make  us  what  we  are?     Whence  have  come  our  be- 


^  AntiQuitiea,  Joaephus,  xi,  7,  1. 


218  THE  EELIGIOX  OF  JUDAH 

liefs,  the  color  of  our  emotions,  and  the  decisions  that  are 
registered  in  deeds?  How  subtle  and  unfathomable  are 
the  ways  in  which  an  individual  is  influenced  in  every 
aspect  of  life !  A  terrific  thunderstorm  frightened  Luther 
into  becoming  a  monk;  the  terror  of  a  pursued  runaway 
slave  led  John  Brown  to  vow  eternal  enmity  to  slavery; 
the  sight  of  a  criminal  guillotined  in  Paris  shook  to  its 
foundations  Tolstoy's  belief  in  the  greatness  of  modern 
civilization;  Sarah  Bernhardt  was  diverted  from  the  con- 
vent to  the  stage  by  a  careless  remark  made  to  her  mother 
by  a  friend;  Matthew  was  transformed  from  a  publican 
into  an  apostle  by  the  Master's  "Come."  It  is  so  in  every 
life.  A  picture,  a  book,  a  song,  a  careless  or  an  earnest 
word,  a  birth,  a  death,  an  accident — and  our  lives  are 
turned  into  new  paths,  and  we  become  different  beings.  We 
are  influenced  by  everybody  and  everything;  and  we,  in 
turn,  influence  the  whole  world.  No  individual  lives 
unto  himself.  Our  separate  lives  are  really  composite 
parts  of  the  lives  of  all.  Life  is  an  endless  process  of  give 
and  receive.    The  Persians  are  ever  with  us. 

How  frequently  the  common  and  unclean  are  trans- 
formed into  the  beautiful  and  the  pure !  When  the  singers 
of  the  Temple  were  seeking  tunes  for  their  poems  they 
found  them  among  the  songs  in  common  use.  Vintage 
songs,  love  ditties,  and  songs  of  revelry  were  robbed  of 
their  melodies,  and  these  popular  tunes  began  to  be  heard 
in  the  courts  of  the  Temple.  Psalm  22,  from  which  Jesus 
quoted  when  dying,  was  sung  to  the  tune  of  a  hunting 
song:  "The  Hind  of  the  Morning."  Psalm  56,  one  of  the 
oldest  in  the  Psalter,  was  set  to  the  music  of  a  love  song: 
*'The -Silent  Dove."  Psalm  8,  one  of  the  noblest  of  Jewish 
hymns,  was  sung  to  a  wine  song's  music.  Even  tunes 
can  be  converted.  Men  and  women  whose  lives  are  set 
to  sin  can  be  reclaimed  from  the  vulgar  and  vicious  and 
changed  into  sacred  chants  unto  God. 

The  Psalms  seem  to  have  been  written  for  all  time. 
Jew  and  Gentile,  Catholic  and  Protestant,  cultured  and 
ignorant.  Oriental  and  Occidental,  find  in  them  the  ve- 
hicle of  their  praises  and  their  prayers.    The  Psalms  are 


JEWISH  LIFE  IN  THE  PERSIAN  PERIOD  219 

the  utterances  of  human  souls  crying  out  for  divine  aid 
and  comfort.  They  are  human  voices — not  Jewish; 
therefore,  they  are  universal  voices.  Through  the  centu- 
ries they  have  been  lifting  themselves  to  God  in  the  hearts 
of  vast  human  multitudes.  Martyrs,  missionaries,  mer- 
chants far  from  home,  sailors  at  sea,  soldiers  in  the  thick 
of  battle,  kings  on  their  throne,  stout  souls  defying  the 
tyranny  of  kings,  mothers  bending  over  their  children, 
youths  and  maidens  in  their  mating  time,  old  men  and 
saintly  women  facing  the  sunset,  even  our  Lord  at  Cal- 
var}%  have  used  the  Psalms  to  unite  themselves  the  closer 
with  God.  They  are  still  our  noblest  expressions  of  wor- 
ship. They  are  sufficient  for  the  sage.  They  are  beautiful 
on  the  lips  of  a  child. 

Tests  of  Lesson  Mastery 

1.  What  nations  influenced  the  Hebrews  in  different  periods 
of  their  history? 

2.  Discuss  the  political  organization  of  the  Persian  Empire. 

3.  What   was    the   result   of   this   political    eflQciency   upon 
Jewish  Messianism? 

4.  What  use  of  music  in  Hebrew  religion  had  been  made 
previous  to  the  Exile? 

5.  What  led  to  a  greater  use  of  music  in  the  services  of  the 
second  Temple? 

6.  Discuss  the  guilds,  instruments  of  music,  and   Hebrew 
tunes. 

7.  Describe  the  contents  of  the  earliest  Jewish  hymnbooks. 

8.  What  events  in  the  Persian  Empire  and  in  Jewish  his- 
tory inspired  the  prophecies  of  the  third  chapter  of  Joel? 

9.  How  closely   were  the  Jews  brought   into  contact  with 
the  Persians? 

10.  What  were  the  views  of  the  hereafter  held  by  the  Jew- 
ish contemporaries  of  Nehemiah? 

11.  What  were  the  Persian  views  at  this  time? 

12.  To  what  extent  was  Judaism  influenced  by  Persian  re- 
ligious ideas? 

References  for  Further  Study 

Jerusalem,  G.  A.  Smith,  Volume  II,  pages  350-66. 
Seven  Great  Monarchies,  Rawlinson,  Volume  II,  pages  466- 
74  and  526-32. 
History  of  the  Jewish  People,  Kent,  pages  224-67. 
Old-Testament  History,  Wade,  pages  608-11. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

THE  JEWISH  SAGE 

When  Alexander  set  out  from  Macedonia  with  his 
armies  for  the  conquest  of  Asia,  a  new  epoch  in  the  world's 
life  began.  The  Greeks  believed  themselves  to  be  the 
superiors  of  the  Asiatics  in  the  things  that  make  civiliza- 
tion. It  was  natural  for  them  to  introduce  into  the  lands 
of  their  conquest  the  familiar  aspects  of  their  life  at 
home.  By  the  year  332  B.  C.  the  Greeks  had  wrested 
Syria  and  Palestine  from  the  Persians.  From  this  date 
until  63  B.  C,  at  which  time  Jerusalem  was  captured  by 
Pompey,  and  a  Roman  garrison  policed  the  city,  Palestine 
was  profoundly  affected  by  Greek  civilization.  Even  the 
appearance  of  the  Romans  did  not  stop  the  process  of  Hel- 
lenization.  Pompey  gave  many  of  the  cities  of  Palestine 
their  freedom  and  embellished  them  with  new  public 
buildings  after  the  Greek  manner.  From  the  coming  of 
the  Greeks  until  a  hundred  years,  at  least,  after  the  open- 
ing of  the  Christian  era  Greek  civilization  was  the  domi- 
nant influence  in  Palestine. 

Greek  Influence  in  Palestine 

Since  the  Greeks  had  crossed  into  Asia  not  to  ravage  the 
country  but  to  possess  it,  they  caused  to  spring  up  a  mul- 
titude of  cities  after  the  Greek  pattern,  into  which  were 
carried  the  ideals,  the  interests,  and  the  manners  of  the 
homeland.  No  part  of  Asia  was  more  Hellenized  than 
Syria  and  northern  Palestine.  Throughout  Galilee  around 
the  shores  of  Gennesaret  and  far  across  the  Jordan  arose 
numerous  Greek  walled  cities,  with  colonnaded  streets, 
stadiums,  theaters,  baths,  hippodrome,  and,  sometimes,  a 
naumachy.  Mount  Tabor,  looking  down  upon  the  plain 
of  Esdraelon ;  Sycthopolis,  guarding  the  plain  at  its  en- 
trance into  the  Jordan  valley;  at  least  Tariche^e  and  Ga- 

220 


THE  JEWISH  SAGE  221 

dara  by  Galilee;  Paneion  at  the  sources  of  the  Jordan;  in 
eastern  Palestine,  Dion  and  Pella,  the  latter  so  thor- 
oughly Greek  that  it  was  destroyed  by  the  Maccabean  prince 
John  Hyrcanus;  Gerasa/  Philadelphia  on  the  site  of  Rab- 
both  Amnion,  Abila,  Raphona,  and,  no  doubt,  many  an- 
other— such  are  some  of  the  cities  built  by  Alexander's 
successors  to  spread  Greek  culture  throughout  the  world. 
All  these  cities  were  within  three  days'  journey  of  Jerusa- 
lem, and  some  of  them  were  in  sight  of  the  Mount  of 
Olives.  Into  these  Palestinian  cities — there  were  many 
others  along  the  Phoenician  and  Palestinian  coast — poured 
the  tides  of  a  new  and  attractive  life.  Interests,  ideals, 
and  feelings  new  to  the  Jew  were  dominant  in  these  bril- 
liant centers  of  life.  They  gave  expression  to  that  political 
activity,  artistic  feeling,  and  physical  enjoyment  so  char- 
acteristic of  the  Greek  and  so  foreign  to  the  Jew.  Fes- 
tivals in  which  athletic  games,  horse  races,  and  dramatic 
entertainments  held  dominating  place  offered  the  youth 
of  Jerusalem  an  entirely  new  conception  of  life  and  the  goal 
of  human  endeavor.  The  plays  of  Sophocles  and  Eurip- 
ides, along  with  much  inferior  stuff,  were  enacted  in 
these  Palestinian  theaters. 

It  was  impossible  that  the  younger  and  wealthier  Jews 
should  not  respond  to  this  freedom  and  exhilaration  of 
Greek  life.  Greek  culture  offered  a  wider  arena  of  life. 
So  all  those  Jews — they  were  an  increasing  number — who 
aspired  for  either  social  position  or  higher  mental  endow- 
ments now  turned  to  the  Greek  language,  philosophy,  and 
letters.  Nor  were  they  longer  content  to  remain  at  home : 
the  desire  for  pleasure,  for  commerce,  for  political  ad- 
vancement, for  military  service,  for  residence  in  Greek 
cities,  for  fertile  lands,  all  combined  to  draw  multiplied 
thousands  of  Jews  into  the  Greek  centers  of  Egypt  and 
Syria.  The  attractiveness  of  this  Greek  life  is  revealed  in 
the  proposal  to  rename  Jerusalem  "Antiochia"  and  in 
the  rededication  of  the  Samaritan  temple  on  Mount 
Gerizim  as  the  ''Temple  of  Jupiter  Hellenius.'' 


A  Syrian  Pilgrimage,  Ascham,  pages  89-94. 


222  THE  RELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

The  rigid  Judaism,  grown  up  under  Nehemiah  and 
Ezra,  could  not  wholly  resist  this  freer  Hellenic  life,  and 
there  appeared  under  Greek  influence  writings  called  Wis- 
dom Literature.  The  complex  ceremonial  and  civil  law 
that  governed  Judaism  during  the  fourth  century  required 
not  only  the  priest  to  conduct  the  ritual  but  also  the  scribe 
to  teach  the  law.  The  near  approach  of  Greek  civilization 
attracted  many  scribes,  not  only  to  expound  the  Jewish 
Scriptures  but  also  to  observe  and  study  universal  moral 
and  religious  principles.  Such  scribes  as  were  attracted 
by  this  universal  moral  truth  are  the  sages.  In  Ecclesias- 
ticus  39.  1-10  are  stated  the  aim  and  function  of  the  sage: 

"He  will  seek  out  the  wisdom  of  all  the  ancients, 
And  will  be  occupied  in  prophecies; 
He  will  keep  the  discourse  of  the  men  of  renown. 
And  be  conversant  in  the  dark  sayings  of  parables; 
He  will  serve  among  great  men. 
And  appear  before  him  that  ruleth; 
He  will  travel  through  the  land  of  strange  nations. 
For  he  hath  tried  good  things  and  evil  among  men. 
He  will  apply  his  heart  to  resort  early  to  the  Lord  that 

made  him. 
And  will  make  supplication  before  the  Most  High, 
And  will  open  his  mouth  in  prayer. 
And  will  make  supplication  for  his  sins. 
The  Lord  shall  direct  his  counsel  and  knowledge. 
And  in  his  secrets  shall  he  meditate. 
He  shall  show  forth  the  instruction  which  he  hath  been 

taught. 
And  shall  glory  in  the  law  of  the  covenant  of  the  Lord. 
Many  shall  commend  his  understanding, 
And  so  long  as  the  world  endureth,  it  shall  not  be  blotted 

out. 
Nations  shall  declare  his  wisdom. 
And  the  congregation  shall  tell  out  his  praise." 

Compare  with  this  ideal  of  the  sage's  function  in  society 
the  meaning  and  the  need  of  wisdom  given  in  Proverbs 


THE  JEWISH  SAGE  223 

1.  2-7.    This  prologue  states  the  purpose  of  the  collection 
of  proverbs  that  make  up  the  book. 

This  wisdom  literature  includes  the  Old-Testament  book 
of  Proverbs;  several  Psalms,  such  as  73,  92,  103,  104, 
and  107;  Ecclesiastes ;  and  the  apocryphal  books  of  Eccle- 
siasticus  (or  Wisdom  of  Jesus,  Son  of  Sirach)  and  Wisdom 
of  Solomon. 

The  Teaching  of  the  Sage 

Concerning  Human  Conduct. — Read  Proverbs,  chapter  2 ; 
4.  13-19.  Note  that  it  is  man's  supreme  duty  to  seek 
wisdom  as  he  would  search  for  hidden  treasures;  and  if 
he  does  so  crave  to  understand  life  he  will  learn  that 
man's  highest  virtue  is  obedience  to  the  moral  law.  This 
theme  is  amplified  and  illustrated  in  succeeding  chapters. 
Chapter  5  is  a  warning  against  sexual  licentiousness.  Chap- 
ter 6  points  out  the  evils  of  idleness,  lying,  theft,  adultery, 
and  murder.  Other  parts  of  the  book  are  warnings  against 
dishonesty  (10.  9),  mischief-making  (10.  10),  hate  (10. 
12),  slander  (10.  18),  pride  (11.  2),  stinginess  and  avar- 
ice (11.  24-26),  social  pretense  (13.  7),  anger  (14.  17), 
bribery  (15.  27),  use  of  wine  (20.  1),  quarrelsomeness 
(20.  3),  fraud  (20.  17),  gossip  (20.  19),  filial  impiety 
(20.  20),  oppression  of  the  poor  (22.  22,  23;  10.  11), 
gluttony  and  drunkenness  (23.  20,  21),  perjury  (25.  18), 
boastfulness  (27.  1,  2),  jealousy  (27.  4),  greed  (27.  20). 
These  vices  are  pointed  out  many  times  over,  and  their 
antithetic  virtues  are  the  evidence  of  wisdom.  Similar 
vices  and  virtues  are  the  themes  of  Ben-Sira  (Jesus,  Son 
of  Sirach).  This  author  of  Ecclesiasticus  anticipates 
James  in  saying: 

"Be  as  a  father  unto  the  fatherless. 
And  instead  of  a  husband  unto  their  mother, 
So  shalt  thou  be  a  son  of  the  Most  High." 

Likewise,  in  other  forms  of  rich  human  sympathy  man 
shows  his  wisdom: 

"Be  not  wanting  to  them  that  weep. 
And  mourn  with  them  that  mourn." 


224  THE  RELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

Then,  too,  prayer  and  almsgiving  are  the  marks  of  wis- 
dom: 

"Be  not  faint-hearted  in  thy  prayer. 
And  neglect  not  to  give  alms." 

For  the  sage,  sin  has  little  or  nothing  to  do  with  cere- 
monial law.  The  wise  man  is  not  he  who  follows  with 
devotion  the  Jewish  ritual  of  worship,  but  he  who  prac- 
tices the  great  moral  virtues.  Here,  again,  as  in  the  great 
prophets,  righteousness  becomes  a  greater  thing  than  the 
correct  practice  of  a  cult:  it  is  the  exaltation  of  truth, 
justice,  integrity,  sobriety,  and  humanity  to  supreme  place 
in  human  conduct.  The  man  who  does  these  things  will 
stand  right  with  God.  Ben-Sira  sums  up  the  advantage  of 
the  pursuit  of  moral  truth  in  his  fine  saying : 
"Strive  for  the  truth  unto  death. 
And  the  Lord  God  shall  fight  for  thee." 

In  this  new  emphasis  upon  wisdom  virtue  and  knowl- 
edge become  practically  the  same  thing.  The  sinner  is  a 
fool;  the  observer  of  moral  law  is  wise.  The  bad  man  is 
bad  because  he  will  not  seek  instruction.  "Wisdom  will 
not  enter  into  a  soul  that  deviseth  evil,"  writes  the  author 
of  Wisdom  of  Solomon.  After  cataloguing  the  sins  of 
wicked  men  the  same  writer  thus  accounts  for  their  evil 
purposes : 

"Thus  reasoned  they,  and  they  were  led  astray; 
For  their  wickedness  blinded  them. 
And  they  knew  not  the  mysteries  of  God." 

Compare  with  this  the  identification  of  wisdom  and  right- 
eousness in  Proverbs  8.  8.  So  in  this  new  turn  of  Jewish 
thought  wisdom  is  regarded  as  the  one  thing  needful. 
Let  a  man  become  wise,  and  all  goes  well. 

Concerning  Wisdom  as  a  Divine  Attribute. — The 
Priestly  Code  held  up  Jehovah's  holiness,  meaning  by  this 
his  separateness  from  man,  as  the  chief  element  in  his 
nature.  The  prophets  emphasized  his  justice,  righteous- 
ness, and  love.  The  sages  put  forward  wisdom  as  the  out- 
standing characteristic  of  deity. 


THE  JEWISH  SAGE  226 

(a)  Read  carefully  Proverbs  8.  22-Sl.  Observe  that 
Wisdom  here  asserts  her  primeval  origin  before  Jehovah 
set  about  the  creation  of  the  world  (verses  22-26)  and 
that  she  was  present  at  the  creation  of  the  earth,  rejoicing 
at  Jehovah's  work  and  being  his  continual  delight  (27- 
31).  Wisdom  is  here  represented  as  a  personal  being,  the 
first-created  companion  of  the  Most  High.  It  is  a  poet's 
way  of  asserting  that  wisdom  is  the  supreme  attribute  of 
deity  and  afiirming  that  God's  providence  is  character- 
istically marked  by  wisdom. 

(h)  Ben-Sira  teaches,  similarly,  that  wisdom  is  the  glori- 
ous distinction  of  God's  nature  and  providence: 

"'1  came  forth  from  the  mouth  of  the  Most  High, 
And  covered  the  earth  as  a  mist; 
I  dwelt  in  high  places, 
And  my  throne  is  in  the  pillar  of  the  cloud. 
Alone  I  compassed  the  circuit  of  the  heaven, 
And  walked  in  the  depth  of  the  abyss. 
In  the  waves  of  the  sea,  and  in  all  the  earth, 
And  in  every  people  and  nation  I  got  a  possession. 
He  created  me  from  the  beginning  before  the  world, 
And  to  the  end  I  shall  not  fail"  (Ecclesiasticus  24.  3-9). 

(c)  In  Wisdom  of  Solomon  (7.  25,  26;  8.  1)  the  same 
assertion  occurs  that  wisdom  is  the  supreme  meaning  of 
God: 

^'Wisdom  is  a  breath  of  the  power  of  God, 
And  a  clear  effluence  of  the  glory  of  the  Almighty; 
She  is  an  effulgence  from  everlasting  light, 
And  an  unspotted  mirror  of  the  working  of  God, 
And  an  image  of  his  goodness. 
She  reacheth  out  endlessly  with  strength  unabated. 
And  ordereth  all  things  graciously." 

The  author  of  this  book  goes  further.  Wisdom  is  not 
only  the  active  principle  of  divine  Providence  in  nature 
but  it  is  the  Spirit  of  God  himself  passing  out  into  human 
life  and  uniting  men  unto  himself: 


226  THE  RELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

'^Wisdom,  from  generation  to  generation  passing  into  holy 
souls, 
Maketh  men  God's  prophets  and  friends; 
For  nothing  doth  God  love  save  him  that  dwelleth  with 
wisdom"  (7.  27,  28). 

"She  entered  into  the  soul  of  a  servant  of  the  Lord, 
And  withstood  terrible  kings  in  wonders  and  signs. 
She  rendered  unto  holy  men  a  reward  of  their  toils; 
She  guided  them  along  a  marvelous  way, 
And  became  unto  them  a  covering  in  the  daytime. 
And  a  flame  of  stars  through  the  night''  (10.  16,  17). 

Universalism. — There  is  little  stress  upon  Jewish  laws, 
institutions,  and  hopes.  There  is  no  mention  of  Israel  in 
Proverbs.  According  to  Ben-Sira  wisdom  is  manifested 
preeminently  in  Jewish  law  (24.  8-23),  and  the  priestly 
dues  are  obligations  upon  the  wise  man.  But  the  wise 
man  is  much  more  than  a  legalist.  The  great  moral  vir- 
tues, found  in  every  nation,  are  the  equivalent  of  Jewish 
ritual : 

"He  that  requiteth  a  good  turn  offereth  fine  flour; 
And  he  that  giveth  alms  sacrificeth  a  thank  offering" 
(35.  2). 

In  Wisdom  of  Solomon  this  universalism  is  carried  still 
further : 

"Thou  hast  mercy  on  all  men,  because  thou  hast  power  to 

do  all  things, 
And  thou  overlookest  the  sins  of  men  to  the  end  they 

may  repent. 
For  thou  lovest  all  things  that  are, 

And  abhorrest  none  of  the  things  which  thou  didst  make ; 
For  never  wouldest  thou  have  formed  anything  if  thou 

didst  hate  it. 
And   how   would   anything   have   endured,   except   thou 

hadst  willed  it? 
Thou  sparest  all  things,  because  they  are  thine, 
0  Sovereign  Lord,  thou  lover  of  men"  (11.  23-26). 


THE  JEWISH  SAGE  227 

(b)  This  universal  religion  is  seen  in  the  sage's  concep- 
tion of  sin  and  the  means  for  its  forgiveness.  Kecall  what 
is  said  above  concerning  human  conduct  and  compare  the 
conception  of  sin  here  taught  with  the  idea  of  sin  expressed 
in  Chapter  XVIII.  Here  there  is  no  ceremonial  sin.  All 
sin  is  the  rejection  of  wisdom  and  the  pursuit  of  the  well- 
recognized  immoral  acts  of  life.  The  sage  possesses  a 
finer  sense  of  the  ground  of  the  forgiveness  of  sins.  Ob- 
serve in  the  foregoing  quotation  from  Wisdom  of  Solo- 
mon that  Jehovah  needs  no  sacrifice  to  put  him  in  a 
forgiving  humor:  his  great  power  and  love  are  sufficient 
motives  to  move  him  to  receive  mercifully  his  repentant 
children.  This  movement  of  the  sage  away  from  the 
sacrificial  ritual  of  legalistic  Judaism  is  a  splendid  vision 
of  the  true  nature  of  God  and  of  religion. 

A  Deposit  Slip  foe  the  Spikitual  Savings  Bank 

Better  than  gold  is  the  knowledge  of  God.  This  is  a 
fundamental  truth  for  the  wise  man.  Do  you  believe  this  ? 
Do  you  really  believe  that  the  kingdom  of  God  is  more 
worthy  of  your  thought  and  enterprise  than  the  pursuit 
of  wealth  and  fame?  Are  the  invisible  interests  of  the 
soul  of  greater  moment  than  the  visible  needs  of  the  body  ? 
If  we  are  creatures  who  outlast  time  and  who,  by  virtue  of 
this  spiritual  immortality,  cannot  hope  to  find  comfort 
and  life  in  the  world  of  things,  do  we  not  need  far  more 
deeply  than  we  hitherto  have  understood  the  help  of  a 
Being  who  is  lifted  high  above  the  pettiness  and  the  mean- 
ness of  our  lives,  above  our  ignorance  and  sin,  whose  will, 
in  spite  of  our  blindness  and  rebellion,  dominates  the 
world  ?  A  retreat  we  must  have  in  the  realms  of  the  spirit 
to  save  us  from  the  littleness  and  misery  into  which  the 
strife  for  things  ever  plunges  us.  God  is  man's  primary 
need. 

In  religion  wisdom  is  a  primary  need.  Men  do  not 
purposely  seek  wretchedness,  misery,  and  sin;  all  men  are 
pursuing  happiness.  It  is  the  lack  of  lofty  discipline  and 
direction  in  the  habit-forming  years  which  distorts  so  woe- 
fully the  conception  of  satisfaction  held  by  the  vast  ma- 


22^  THE  RELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

jority  of  mankind.  Could  the  young  man  who  lifts  the 
first  glass  of  beer  to  his  lips  see  himself  mirrored  as  a 
penniless  outcast,  ragged,  filthy,  blear-eyed,  cursed  by 
society,  he  would  shudder  at  the  foaming  drink  as  at 
leprosy  or  a  mad  dog.  The  girl  who  harbors  the  first  im- 
pure thought  never  pictures  herself  a  woman  of  the  streets. 
The  task  of  evangelizing  the  world  is  the  task  of  teaching 
the  world  where  the  goals  of  happiness  lie.  Do  you  recall 
the  moan  of  Guinevere? 

"Ah,  my  God, 

What  might  I  not  have  made  of  thy  fair  world 
Had  I  but  loved  thy  highest  creature  here? 
It  was  my  duty  to  have  loved  the  highest; 
It  surely  was  my  profit  had  I  known, 
It  would  have  been  my  pleasure  had  I  seen, 
We  needs  must  love  the  highest  when  we  see  it." 

Tennyson  speaks  true.  There  is  a  divine  necessity  within 
us  to  love  the  highest  that  we  know.  Make  it  your  solemn 
duty  to  search  for  the  highest,  the  purest,  and  the  holiest, 
and  count  it  your  unescapable  duty  and  divinely  given 
opportunity  to  exhibit  the  highest  that  you  know  in  the 
sight  of  your  fellow  men. 

Does  God  know?  How  often  that  question  has  flamed 
within  us.  We  are  tempted,  burdened,  assailed,  defeated. 
Do  we  struggle  alone?  Is  the  sky  without  an  ear?  Are 
the  heavens  blind?  We  know  that  the  universe  is  strong. 
Again  and  again  we  tremble  before  its  power.  Earthquake 
and  storm,  disease  and  death,  make  us  well  aware  of  a 
power  outside  ourselves  shaping  our  destiny.  Is  this 
Being  wise  and  good?  How  we  have  raised  the  question 
in  the  midst  of  a  dreadful  overwhelming  of  our  hopes  and 
plans!  There  is  one  answer  only  which  steadies  us  and 
gives  strength  and  peace :  God  is  wise.  The  universe  has 
no  blind  alley  for  him.  He  never  takes  his  hand  from  the 
wheel.  He  knows  the  course.  He  sees  the  far-off  harbor. 
0  thou  vast  outbound  soul,  fearful  of  the  night,  shrinking 
from  the  storm,  keep  the  wise  God  steersman  of  thy  life, 
and  thou  shalt  make  the  harbor  safe  at  the  silver  dawning 
of  the  morning. 


THE  JEWISH  SAGE  229 

Questions  for  Study 

1.  What  is  meant  by  the  Persian  period  in  Hebrew  history? 
the  Greek  period? 

2.  What  was  the  ambition  of  the  Greek  conquerors  of  Asia? 

3.  Name  some  of  the  Greek  cities  of  Palestine?  What 
public  buildings  were  essential  to  every  Greek  city? 

4.  What  particular  feature  of  Greek  life  was  expressed  by 
the  gymnasium?  the  theater?  the  stadium,  hippodrome,  and 
naumachy?     (Consult  the  dictionary.) 

5.  Was  the  appeal  made  by  these  aspects  of  Greek  life 
necessarily  evil? 

6.  Did  the  Greek,  in  this  emphasis  upon  physical  enjoy- 
ment, art,  and  politics,  have  a  real  contribution  to  make  to 
the  Jew  of  the  fourth  and  of  the  third  century  before  Christ? 

7.  What  motives  impelled  the  younger  and  wealthier  Jews 
to  respond  to  the  appeals  made  by  Greek  civilization? 

8.  What  necessitated  the  rise  of  the  Jewish  sage? 

9.  In  the  quotation  from  Ecclesiasticus  39.  1-10  point  out  the 
preparation  of  the  sage.  Observe  that  he  becomes  conversant 
with  the  products  of  past  wisdom,  he  visits  the  great  men 
and  the  courts  of  foreign  lands,  he  is  a  student  of  the  social 
conditions  of  his  day,  he  seeks  forgiveness  of  sins  from  God 
and  that  instruction  which  he  alone  can  give.  Note  next 
his  mission  in  the  world  and  the  honors  that  come  to  him. 

V  10.  Examine  also,  in  a  similar  way,  the  prologue  to  the 
book  of  Proverbs  (1.  2-6),  and  point  out  the  preparation  and 
the  mission  of  the  wise  man.  What  is  said  to  be  man's  first 
step  toward  wisdom? 

11.  What  writings  constitute  this  wisdom  literature?  What 
Is  an  apocryphal  book? 

12.  Examine  Proverbs  2.  1-4  and  state  the  prerequisite  to 
wisdom  which  the  sage  here  insists  upon?  Note  that  wisdom, 
first  of  all,  Is  a  definite  and  earnest  purpose  to  search  for 
wisdom.  What  is  promised  in  verse  5  to  such  an  earnest  in- 
quirer? Observe  that  here  "the  fear  of  Jehovah,"  "the  knowl- 
edge of  God,"  and  wisdom  are  identified.  The  student  will 
recall  Hosea's  demand  that  Israel  should  know  Jehovah.  To 
know  Jehovah  is  to  realize  his  ethical  character  and  his  moral 
demands  from  men.  The  sage,  like  the  prophet,  regards  the 
conscience  and  reason  of  man,  not  a  body  of  law  or  a  cult,  as 
the  true  place  of  God's  revelation  of  his  ethical  character 
and  the  duties  that  his  moral  nature  imposes  upon  man.  "We 
have  here,  on  the  one  hand,  the  recognition  of  the  mind  of 
man  as  a  source  of  truth  and,  on  the  other  hand,  the  as- 
sertion that  the  moral  potency  of  the  mind  Is  the  creation 
of  God." 

13.  In  the  light  of  the  foregoing  statement  what  do  the 
words  "Jehovah  giveth  wisdom"  (verse  6)  mean? 


230  THE  RELIGION  OE  JUDAH 

14.  Of  what  benefit  is  this  wisdom  to  man?  See  the  re- 
mainder of  the  chapter. 

15.  What  is  the  meaning  of  sin  to  the  Jewish  sage?  What 
is  the  relation  of  righteousness  and  wisdom? 

16.  What  does  the  Jewish  sage  add  to  the  Hebrew  concep- 
tion of  deity?  Estimate  the  importance  of  this  contribution 
to  theology. 

17.  To  what  extent  does  the  natural  world  give  evidence 
of  this  wisdom? 

18.  Is  wisdom  in  Proverbs  8  and  in  the  quotations  from 
Ecclesiasticus  and  Wisdom  of  Solomon  anything  different  from 
the  wisdom  spoken  of  in  Proverbs  2?  What  new  function  of 
wisdom  is  described  by  the  author  of  Wisdom  of  Solomon? 

19.  Why  does  the  sage  not  emphasize  the  beliefs,  ideals, 
and  institutions  peculiar  to  the  Jew?  Why  does  he  preach 
no  Messianic  kingdom  and  expect  no  Messiah? 

20.  What  elements  in  his  teaching  were  making  for  the 
overthrow  of  Judaism?  What  aspects  of  his  beliefs  about 
God  and  man  were  preparing  the  way  for  the  teaching  of 
Jesus? 

Supplementary  Readings 

The  Religion  of  Israel,  Smith,  Chapter  XVII. 
A  History  of  the  Jewish  People,  Kent,  pages  271-322. 
Jerusalem,  G.  A.  Smith,  Volume  II,  pages  367-418. 
Jerusalem  Under  the  High  Priests,  Bevan,  pages  1-68. 


CHAPTER  XXII 

THE  MACCABEAN  CEISIS 

Jewish  religious  history  is  a  series  of  crises.  The  Exo- 
dus, the  rise  of  the  monarchy,  the  division  of  the  kingdom, 
the  crushing  of  Tyrian  Baalism,  the  threatened  fall  of 
Samaria,  the  birth  of  ethical  prophecy,  the  sack  of  Jeru- 
salem, the  rebirth  of  the  Jewish  state  in  the  legalism  of 
Nehemiah  and  Ezra,  all  evidence  that  the  religion  of 
Israel  ever  was  subjected  to  excessive  stress  and  strain. 
The  Maccabean  age  is  another  period  of  trial  and  victory. 
This  chapter  sets  forth  the  nature  of  this  crisis  and  its 
contribution  to  Judaism. 

Maccabean  Political  History 

From  168  B.  C,  when  the  aged  priest  Mattathias  began 
to  revolt  against  the  Syrian  kings,  until  63,  when  Pales- 
tine fell  into  the  hands  of  Rome,  constitutes  the  Maccabean 
period  of  Jewish  history.  The  preceding  chapter  pointed 
out  the  aim  of  the  Greek  princes  who  got  in  control  of 
Palestine  through  the  victories  of  Alexander  the  Great. 
Believing  in  the  vast  superiority  of  the  Hellenistic  views 
and  practices  of  life,  they  devoted  themselves  to  the  spread 
of  this  Greek  civilization  throughout  all  the  provinces  of 
the  empire.  Although  Judah  was  the  slowest  of  all  the 
provinces  of  the  Syrian  kings  (their  capital  was  at  An- 
tioch,  the  Antioch  from  which  Paul  set  out  on  his  mission- 
ary journeys)  to  respond  to  the  allurements  of  Greek  life, 
in  the  course  of  time  there  arose  a  party  friendly  to  the 
Greeks.  By  168  B.  C.  this  party  embraced  a  majority  of 
the  leading  Jews. 

At  this  time  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  the  Syrian  king,  de- 
termined to  force  an  immediate  Hellenization  of  Judaea. 
He  proposed  to  abolish  the  Jewish  worship  and  to  es- 
tablish, instead,  the   Greek  religious  rites.     There  wer^ 

^31 


232  THE  RELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

not  wanting  prominent  Jews  who  were  willing  to  aban- 
don the  characteristic  features  of  their  religion.  Those 
who  favored  the  proposals  of  Antiochus  seized  the  govern- 
ment in  Jerusalem.  A  gymnasium  was  erected  near  the 
Temple,  and  the  young  men  of  Jerusalem  threw  them- 
selves heartily  into  the  new  life  of  which  this  building  was 
the  expression.  Even  the  priests  were  to  be  seen  oftener  in 
the  gymnasium  than  in  the  Temple.  Many  of  the  athletes 
sought  to  remove  the  traces  of  their  circumcision.  Such 
was  the  progress  toward  the  Hellenization  of  Judaea  from 
174  to  168  B.  C. 

Then  Antiochus  began  to  carry  out  his  plans  in  earnest. 
He  sent  an  army  to  Jerusalem,  threw  down  its  walls, 
killed  or  sold  into  slavery  very  many  of  its  inhabitants, 
brought  in  Greek  colonists,  and  built  a  citadel  to  hold  the 
people  in  subjection.  Jerusalem  was  made  a  Greek  city. 
Upon  the  site  of  the  ancient  place  of  Jewish  sacrifice  a 
Greek  altar  was  set  up,  sacrifices  were  offered  to  Greek 
deities,  and  the  Jews  were  compelled  to  participate  in 
Greek  religious  festivals.  Throughout  Judaea  the  observ- 
ance of  Jewish  worship  was  forbidden  on  pain  of  death. 
Circumcision  and  the  observance  of  the  Sabbath  were 
special  points  of  Greek  attack.  Officers  were  sent  into  all 
the  Jewish  towns  to  see  that  sacrifices  were  offered  to 
the  Greek  gods. 

When  the  royal  officer  came  to  Modin,  a  town  forever 
memorable  in  the  annals  of  religion,  an  aged  priest,  Mat- 
tathias,  was  urged  to  submit  to  the  king's  decree  and  offer 
the  heathen  sacrifice.  He  refused.  When  a  renegade  Jew 
stepped  forward  to  take  his  place,  Mattathias  rushed  for- 
ward and  struck  him  down  beside  the  pagan  altar  and  slew 
also,  in  the  next  moment,  the  royal  commissioner  himself. 
Thus  having  lifted  the  standard  of  revolt,  Mattathias,  with 
his  five  sons  and  some  others,  fled  into  the  mountains. 
When  the  news  of  this  brave  deed  spread  through  the  land, 
other  like-minded  Jews  flocked  to  Mattathias;  and  these 
forces  swept  up  and  down  the  land,  overturned  the  Greek 
altars,  put  to  the  sword  many  of  those  Jews  who  had  re- 
nounced their  religion,  and  enforced  the  observance  of 


THE  MACCABEAN  CRISIS  233 

Jewish  worship.  It  is  impossible  in  this  space  to  narrate 
the  details  of  the  struggle  in  which  these  noble  leaders 
engaged  with  the  Greeks  to  defend  Judaism  against  the 
encroachments  of  Hellenism.  Here  only  it  may  be  said 
that  Judas,  who  took  up  the  work  of  his  father  and  who 
was  called  Maccabeus  (a  word  that  probably  means  "the 
hammer'^),  is  one  of  the  great  heroes  of  Jewish  history; 
that  Jerusalem  was  wrested  from  the  Greeks  and  Jewish 
worship  restored;  that,  finally,  the  citadel  was  captured; 
that  the  high  priesthood  was  secured  in  the  Maccabean 
family;  and  that,  through  the  heroism  and  devotion  of 
the  Maccabees,  Judaea  finally  won  its  independence  from 
the  Syrian  kings,  and,  after  six  centuries  of  vassalage,  the 
Jews  once  more  became  an  independent  state.  The  in- 
dependence of  Judaea  was  recognized  by  the  Syrian  kings 
in  143  B.  C. 

The  Book  of  Daniel 

It  was  in  the  midst  of  this  Greek  persecution,  167-165, 
in  the  judgment  of  most  scholars,  when  the  book  of  Daniel 
was  composed  by  an  unknown  Jewish  writer.  Its  purpose 
was  to  encourage  the  faithful  Israelites  to  remain  steadfast 
in  Jewish  practices  and  beliefs  and  withstand  unto  death 
the  Hellenizing  attempts  of  Antiochus  Epiphanes. 

First,  the  author  assembles  the  examples  of  other  Israel- 
ites who  have  endured  great  trials  for  their  faith  and 
their  triumphs  through  their  constancy;  secondly,  he  as- 
sures his  distressed  countrymen  that  deliverance  is  near 
at  hand.  This  deliverance,  the  author  believes,  will  be  a 
miraculous  intervention  on  the  part  of  God  in  the  affairs  of 
nations,  that  the  Greek  Empire  will  be  annihilated,  and 
that  God  will  give  his  faithful  servants  in  Judaea  the  sov- 
ereignty of  the  world.  He  believes,  indeed,  that  the  Mes- 
sianic age  is  immediately  at  hand. 

Read  chapter  1.  The  author,  by  his  story  of  DanieFs 
refusal  to  eat  meat,  seeks  to  encourage  his  countrymen  to 
abstain  from  meats  prepared  by  the  Greeks.  To  eat  of 
food  forbidden  by  Jewish  law,  especially  in  the  days  of 
Antiochus  Epiphanes,  was  a  striking  evidence  of  apostasy. 


234  THE  EELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

Such  meats  were  almost  sure  to  have  been  offered  as  sacri- 
fice before  partaken  of  as  food.  Hence,  the  eating  of  such 
meats,  as  in  Paul's  day,  was  a  species  of  alien  and  idola- 
trous worship.  Chapter  1  is  thus  an  exhortation  to  be 
true  to  the  law.  Greek  civilization  considered  itself  su- 
perior to  the  life  of  other  nations.  Those  Jews  who  yielded 
to  its  allurements  likewise  so  regarded  the  eminent  value 
of  Hellenic  culture.  Chapter  2  refutes  this  idea  by  ex- 
hibiting the  superiority  of  Hebrew  wisdom  over  the  boasted 
Chaldean  Magians.  The  four  kingdoms  are  the  Chaldean, 
Median,  Persian,  and  Greek.  All  these  shall  pass.  Note 
especially  the  words  in  which  the  rise  of  the  Messianic  king- 
dom is  described  (2.  34,  35,  44,  45). 

Chapter  3  is  designed  to  encourage  the  Jews  to  cling 
steadfastly  to  their  own  religion.  Its  truth  is  worthy  of 
loyalty  unto  death.  Keeping  in  mind  that,  under  the  bit- 
ter Antiochean  persecution,  Jews  were  apostatizing  on 
every  hand,  the  passion  of  this  author  is  the  better  under- 
stood, and  his  mission  valued.  Observe  (3.  17,  18)  the 
sublime  faith  and  courage  of  the  faithful  Jews  in  the 
darkest  months  of  the  Maccabean  crisis. 

Chapter  4  is  to  show  the  utter  helplessness  of  heathen 
powers  before  the  true  God.  As  Nebuchadnezzar,  because 
of  pride  and  arrogance,  was  humbled  from  his  high  posi- 
tion, so  Antiochus  Epiphanes  will  be  reduced  to  mean  es- 
tate. The  Jews  who  are  loyal  to  Jehovah  need  fear  no 
earthly  prince. 

In  chapter  5  the  author,  using  current  popular  accounts 
of  the  fall  of  Babylon,  encourages  his  countrymen  in  their 
crisis.  Belshazzar  lost  his  kingdom  because  he  profaned  the 
Temple  vessels  that  were  carried  from  Jerusalem  to  Baby- 
lon. How  much  more,  then,  is  the  implied  argument,  shall 
Antiochus  Epiphanes  lose  his  throne  for  his  destruction 
of  the  Temple  walls  and  his  erection  of  a  heathen  altar 
upon  the  site  of  Jehovah's  sanctuary! 

Chapter  6  inculcates  that  death  is  better  than  apostasy. 
It  is  the  duty  of  the  Jews  to  observe  their  religion  under 
all  circumstances. 

The  four  beasts  of  chapter  7  are  again  the  four  king- 


I 


THE  MACCABEAlSr  CEISIS  235 

doms — Chaldean,  Median,  Persian,  and  Greek.  Note  es- 
pecially the  description  of  the  Greek  Empire  (7.  7,  19-21). 
The  ten  horns  are  various  Greek  kings — the  successors  of 
Alexander  the  Great.  The  little  horn  (7.  8)  is  Antiochus 
Epiphanes.  Note  especially  the  words  about  him :  "a  mouth 
speaking  great  things.-*'  Observe  too  the  summary  in  7. 
25  of  the  Hellenizing  efforts  of  this  same  Greek  king.  Es- 
pecially attend  to  the  predicted  end  of  the  Greek  Empire. 
God  himself,  the  "ancient  of  days''  of  verse  9,  sits  in 
judgment.  What  is  the  end  of  the  Greek  dominion?  (7. 
11,  26).  Examine  carefully  all  that  is  said  about  the 
new  kingdom  that  is  to  arise  (7.  13,  14,  18,  22,  27).  Note 
that  the  "ancient  of  days"  gives  the  world  sovereignty 
to  "one  like  unto  a  son  of  man"  (7.  13),  and  to  "the 
saints  of  the  Most  High"  (7.  18,  22,  27).  These  saints 
of  the  Most  High  are  of  course  the  faithful  Jews.  Hence, 
"one  like  unto  a  son  of  man"  and  "the  saints  of  the  Most 
High"  are  identified.  There  is  here  a  Messianic  people; 
not  yet  a  Messiah.  Observe  the  extent  of  this  kingdom 
in  space  and  time. 

Chapter  8  is  a  further  description  of  the  Greek  king- 
dom. The  "he-goat  from  the  west"  (8.  5)  is  Alexander 
the  Great.  The  four  horns  of  8.  9  are  the  four  kingdoms 
into  which  Alexander's  vast  empire  split  after  his  death. 
The  little  horn  (8.  9)  again  is  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  whose 
violation  of  the  sanctuary  at  Jerusalem  is  mentioned  in 
8.  11.  The  author  promises  that  this  profanation  of  the 
sanctuary  at  Jerusalem  shall  last  a  little  more  than  a 
thousand  days.  It  is  believed  that  Greek  sacrifices  were  of- 
fered upon  the  Jewish  Temple  altar  from  December  15, 
168,  to  December  25,  165  B.  C. 

Chapter  9  is  another  approach  to  the  author's  chief  con- 
tention that  the  dawn  of  the  Messianic  age  is  at  hand. 
Jeremiah  (25.  11;  29.  10)  indicated  that  the  Babylonian 
Exile  would  last  seventy  years.  The  author  of  Daniel  evi- 
dently supposed  that  Jeremiah  meant  that  the  Messianic 
era,  at  the  end  of  the  predicted  period,  would  be  ushered 
in.  Therefore,  he  interprets  these  seventy  years  as  seventy 
weeks  of  years,  since  the  kingdom  of  their  hopes  has  not 


2Se  THE  RELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

yet  been  realized.  See  9.  24:-27.  Verse  27  states  that 
Antiochus  Epiphanes  shall  afflict  the  Jews  for  seven  years, 
and  that  for  half  this  period  Jewish  worship  at  Jerusalem 
shall  be  cut  off.  Since  the  author  writes  during  this  period 
of  interrupted  worship,  it  is  clear  that  he  looked  for  God's 
intervention  within  the  space  of  three  or  four  years. 

Chapters  10.  1  to  11.  39  are  a  survey  of  the  Judaean 
world  from  the  beginning  of  the  Persian  period  to  the 
first  years  of  the  Maccabean  revolt.  Chapter  11.  40-45 
predicts  the  end  of  Antiochus  and,  with  him,  of  the  Greek 
kingdom^  The  author  feels  that  this  is  the  end  of  the 
present  world  order.  At  this  time  will  come  a  world  judg- 
ment (see  above).  Observe  that  it  is  "a  time  of  trouble^' 
(12.  1) ;  that  the  judgment  is  preceded  by  a  resurrection 
of  those  preeminent  in  good  and  evil  from  "the  dust  of  the 
earth"  for  their  appropriate  rewards  (12.  2,  3).  Those 
who  have  distinguished  themselves  in  neither  way  remain 
in  Sheol. 

Maccabean  Psalms 

There  was  no  period  of  Israel's  history  more  fitted  than 
the  Maccabean  age  to  rouse  the  people  into  religious  song. 
In  no  previous  calamity  of  the  nation  had  the  people  suf- 
fered a  religious  persecution  from  their  conquerors.  Jew- 
ish worship  during  the  Exile  was  not  circumscribed  by 
Babylonian  interference;  but  now  the  ancestral  beliefs  and 
practices,  the  divinely  appointed  worship,  believed  since 
the  days  of  Nehemiah  and  Ezra  to  be  the  only  means  of 
preserving  the  Jewish  nation  in  covenant  relation  with 
Jehovah,  are  assailed  by  Antiochus  Epiphanes  with  all  the 
influence  and  resources  of  the  Syrian-Greek  Empire. 
Added  to  these  crushing  foreign  antagonisms,  within  the 
little  nation  itself  there  was  a  growing  number  of  Jews 
who  were  advocating  the  laxity  and  even  the  abrogation 
of  many  of  the  requirements  of  the  law.  It  was  a  time 
to  try  the  faith  of  earnest  souls  and  to  wring  a  cry  of 
protest  against  these  destructive  tendencies  and  an  im- 
passioned appeal  to  Jehovah  not  to  forsake  his  afflicted 
people.     There  is  an  increasing  tendency  to   include  a 


I 


THE  MACCABEAN  CRISIS  237 

greater  number  of  Psalms  in  this  Maccabean  period.  With 
very  few  exceptions  Psahns  44,  74,  79,  83  are  universally 
assigned  to  this  terrible  period  of  stress  and  trial.  Psalms 
33,  60,  88,  119,  125,  129,  144,  149  are  other  compositions 
considered  by  many  to  have  arisen  from  this  same  age. 

Read  Psalm  74  in  the  light  of  the  desecration  of  the 
sanctuary  at  Jerusalem  by  Antiochus  and  the  subsequent 
uprising.  This  Psalm  was  likely  composed  between  168 
and  165  B.  C.  Note  in  verse  1  the  feeling  that  their 
terrible  disasters  are  due  to  God's  own  discipline.  The 
psalmist  reminds  God  of  the  insolent  desecrations  of  the 
Greek  and  points  out  that  these  Hellenizers  are  his  adver- 
saries. In  verses  4-8  are  given  details  of  the  Greek  viola- 
tion of  the  Temple.  A  wail  of  despair  characterizes  verses 
9-11.  In  verses  12-17  the  author  encourages  himself  with 
reflections  upon  the  might  and  majesty  of  God.  The 
Psalm  ends  in  a  plea  that  Jehovah  will  rescue  his  own  from 
their  afflictions.  Notice  the  appeal  to  the  covenant  (verse 
20)  and  the  characterization  of  the  faithful  and  oppressed 
Jews  as  God's  "turtle-dove,"  "thy  poor,''  "the  oppressed," 
and  "the  poor  and  needy." 

Read  Psalm  79.  Here  too  (in  verses  1-4)  is  a  little 
picture  of  the  desecration  of  the  sanctuary  ordered  by 
Antiochus.  Note  the  details:  the  entrance  of  the  heathen 
within  the  Temple  inclosure,  the  overthrow  of  the  city, 
the  great  slaughter  of  the  inhabitants,  the  unburied  corpses, 
and  the  scoffing  and  mocking  of  the  conquerors.  In  1  Mac- 
cabees 1.  20-40  and  2  Maccabees  8.  2-4  witness  is  borne 
to  the  faithfulness  of  the  picture  drawn  by  this  psalmist. 
Again  these  afflictions  are  viewed  as  penalty  (Psalms  79. 
5-9 ) .  There  is  also  a  plea  for  Jehovah's  help  to  withstand 
and  overcome  their  adversaries. 

Psalm  119  also  is  Maccabean.  It  was  written  in  the 
midst  of  great  trouble,  afflictions,  and  persecutions.  See 
verses  28,  50,  61,  161,  and  many  others  for  expressions  of 
the  deep  distress  of  those  who  remained  faithful  to  Judaism 
under  the  Hellenic  persecutions.  The  author  is  indignant 
at  the  Hellenized  Jews  who  have  apostatized  (verse  53). 
Persecution  has  drawn  him  nearer  to  the  law  and  taught 


238  THE  RELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

him  its  value  (61,  71,  75,  92).  He  is  conscious  of  no 
wrongdoing  to  merit  these  afflictions  (121)  :  his  troubles 
are  persecutions.  The  law  had  become  his  delight.  ^^Oh 
how  love  I  thy  law!''  is  a  recurrent  mood  (97,  113,  and 
many  other  verses). 

Summary 

Although  only  a  part  of  the  Maccabean  history  is  here 
presented,  and  only  a  part  of  the  religious  literature  has  been 
examined,  enough  has  been  brought  forward  to  evidence  the 
importance  of  these  stirring  times  for  the  development  of 
religion.  Greek  civilization  may  not  have  had  much  to 
offer  to  Judaism,  but  we  have  seen  in  the  preceding  chapter 
that  it  did  stimulate  Jewish  thinkers  into  new  conceptions 
which  enriched  the  religious  life  of  mankind.  Here  too, 
by  way  of  reaction,  came  new  faith  and  devotion  to  God. 
Also,  there  was  more  clearly  outlined  the  Messianic  hope. 
From  this  time  on  it  does  not  dim  again.  Through 
the  courage  and  devotion  of  the  Maccabees  the  law  intro- 
duced by  Ezra  was  more  firmly  fixed  in  Jewish  life.  Re- 
ligion came  to  be  identified  with  observance  of  law.  Since 
this  law  was  largely  ceremonial  regulations  of  life — an  af- 
fair of  festivals,  sacrifices,  tributes  to  priests — ,  it  is  neces- 
sarily regretted  that  such  heroism  contributed  to  the  crowd- 
ing out  of  Israel  the  moral  visions  and  obligations  of 
prophetic  teaching.  Yet  nothing  less  than  this  rigid  legal- 
ism could  have  survived  the  attacks  of  the  Hellenizers. 
Without  this  heroic  loyalty,  which  risked  everything  dear 
to  man  and  which  preserved  and  accentuated  legalistic 
piety,  nothing  of  Israel's  glorious  idealism  would  have 
survived  the  bitter  persecution  of  the  Greek  kings.  Ju- 
daism, with  its  profound  regard  for  its  institutions,  its 
heroic  sacrifices  for  them,  its  very  life  centered  in  them, 
prepared  the  way  for  the  high  demands  of  Jesus  that  God's 
kingdom  must  be  first  of  all  in  the  interests  of  man. 

In  Fellowship  With  Judas  Maccabeus 

Judas  Maccabeus  is  one  of  the  world's  heroes.  It  is 
well  for  us  to  know  such  men.    **We  cannot  look,  however 


THE  MACCABEAN  CRISIS  239 

imperfectly,  upon  a  great  man  without  gaining  something 
from  him."  So  Carlyle  would  have  us  give  a  kind  of 
worship  to  heroes.  We  ought  to  have  our  heroes.  A  man 
without  them  is  poor  indeed.  Unless  there  are  brave  and 
lofty-visioned  men  and  women  unto  whom  you  look  with 
admiration  and  a  quickening  of  the  soul  you  live  an  im- 
poverished life.  Judas  Maccabeus  is  worthy  of  your  re- 
gard. Religion  was  the  supreme  fact  for  him.  It  was 
more  than  a  quiet  home,  prosperous  fields,  fair  words  from 
his  neighbors :  it  was  wine  to  his  soul,  and  under  its  exal- 
tation he  forgot  things;  he  lived  in  the  realms  of  the  spirit. 
He  threw  himself  at  wretched  odds  against  the  material- 
ism of  his  day  and  won  gloriously.  Get  acquainted  with 
Judas  Maccabeus. 

The  Maccabees  have  taught  us  that  religious  truth  is 
worth  dying  for.  Men  are  ever  ready  to  perish  for  the 
visible.  Few  of  us  volunteer  to  put  all  in  jeopardy  for 
the  ideal;  yet  it  is  in  this  way  alone  that  we  enter  into 
life.  He  that  loses  his  life  is  the  only  person  who  ever 
finds  it. 

It  is  curious  that  so  much  of  the  world's  finest  work  is 
done  anonymously.  We  do  not  know  the  author  of  Daniel 
nor  of  these  Maccabean  psalms.  Yet  this  is  always  the 
spirit  of  great  work.  The  doer  of  an  ideal  deed  is  not  con- 
cerned with  himself:  he  cares  only  for  the  immortality  of 
his  deed.  Great  souls  never  labor  for  the  perpetuity  of 
themselves.  They  are  careless  of  fame.  So  deeply  con- 
cerned are  they  that  their  work  shall  go  on  blessing  the 
world  that  they  never  plan  for  the  permanency  of  them- 
selves.   A  man^s  true  fame  lies  in  his  deeds. 

The  author  of  Daniel  believes  that  earth's  events  are 
the  shadows  of  heavenly  realities.  The  clash  of  earthly 
kingdoms  is  the  reflex  of  the  conflicts  of  patron  angels 
of  these  nations.  This  is  a  crude  picturing  of  a  great 
truth.  The  meaning  of  our  human  struggles  is  not  ex- 
hausted in  the  play  before  our  eyes.  Earth's  affairs  are 
bound  intimately  with  the  processes  of  the  invisible  and 
spiritual  world.  I  like  to  believe  that  every  aspect  of  my 
Life  must  be  run  back  to  God  for  its  final  meaning.    This 


240  THE  EELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

is  a  God-controlled  world;  it  is  not  a  frightful  maze  of 
warring  finite  wills.  Through  the  pain  and  crash,  the  bit- 
terness and  the  struggle,  of  our  lives,  Almighty  God  is 
working  out  for  us  a  glorious  discipline  of  soul.  We  can 
trust  him.  This  world  is  no  blind  alley  for  him;  it  is  an 
open  thoroughfare  to  his  own  clearly  perceived  goal. 

Let  us,  then,  learn  to  trust  him.  Let  us,  too,  be  brave. 
Let  us  never  swerve  from  the  great  religious  convictions. 
Let  us  learn  to  die  for  the  truths  of  God.  Let  us  make  the 
kingdom  real  and  glorious  by  crowning  it  with  our  loy- 
alty and  devotion  unto  death.  Let  us  not  permit  ourselves 
to  be  swerved  from  duty,  from  the  church,  from  Jesus 
Christ,  neither  by  the  sneers  nor  by  the  blows  of  a  shal- 
low, worldly,  egotistic  culture.  Let  us  stand  by  the 
Christ  even  if  we  stand  in  the  gloom  and  the  pain  of  his 
cross.    By  and  by  we  shall  stand  with  him  in  paradise. 

Questions  fob  Study 

1.  What  is  meant  by  the  Maccabean  age? 

2.  What  results  were  secured  in  Jerusalem  by  the  Greek 
princes  in  their  efforts  to  Hellenize  the  provinces  of  their 
empire? 

3.  What  new  Hellenizing  policy  was  adopted  by  Antiochus 
Epiphanes?  What  was  done  at  Jerusalem  toward  the  carry- 
ing out  of  this  policy?  What  was  the  king's  plan  for  the 
country  towns? 

4.  Where  did  this  policy  first  meet  resistance?  In  what 
manner? 

5.  Who  were  the  leaders  of  this  revolt  against  the  Greek 
king?    What  was  the  nature  of  their  successes? 

6.  What  was  the  condition  of  Judaea  in  143  B.  C? 

7.  What  canonical  book  was  probably  written  in  this  period? 
What  was  the  purpose  of  its  author? 

8.  What  reasons  did  he  offer  his  persecuted  countrymen 
for  withstanding  Antiochus  Epiphanes? 

9.  What  did  he  intend  to  teach  by  his  account  of  Daniel's 
refusal  to  eat  the  food  provided  by  Nebuchadnezzar? 

10.  What  was  this  author's  reply  to  the  boast  of  the  Hel- 
lenizers  that  Greek  culture  was  superior  to  Jewish  ideas  and 
beliefs? 

11.  How  did  he  illustrate  his  belief  that  Jewish  institutions 
were  worthy  of  sacrifice  unto  death? 

12.  How  did  he  argue  that  Antiochus  Epiphanes  was  not  to 
be  feared? 


THE  MACCABEAN  CRISIS  241 

13.  What  end  did  this  author  predict  for  the  Greek  king- 
dom? What  future  did  he  believe  belonged  to  the  Jew?  In 
what  manner  was  the  Jews'  deliverance  to  be  achieved?  When 
did  he  expect  this  glad  relief? 

14.  What  are  this  author's  beliefs  about  angels?  concerning 
life  beyond  the  grave? 

15.  Why  was  the  Maccabean  age  likely  to  produce  devo- 
tional poetry? 

16.  What  Psalms  are  thought  to  have  been  written  in  the 
Maccabean  age?  How  many  of  these  Psalms  have  you  read 
in  connection  with  this  lesson? 

17.  What  impression  do  they  make  upon  you  with  regard 
to  their  faith  and  trust  in  God? 

18.  Do  you  consider  that  great  aflBiction  and  great  faith  are 
likely  to  go  hand  in  hand? 

19.  In  what  ways  do  you  consider  that  the  Maccabean 
struggle  for  religious  and  political  liberty  contributed  to  the 
progress  of  the  kingdom  of  God? 

Works  of  Reference 

1  Maccabees. 

A  History  of  the  Jewish  People,  Kent,  pages  323-40. 

Jerusalem,  G.  A.  Smith,  Volume  II,  pages  419-68. 

Daniel,  Driver,  in  "The  Cambridge  Bible  for  Schools  and 
Colleges."  See  the  Introduction,  pages  ix-cvi,  and  also  the 
commentary  for  diflacult  passages  in  the  text. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

JEWISH  RELIGIOUS  PARTIES 

In  the  New  Testament  Judaism  presents  itself  in  at 
least  two  well-defined  sects,  or  parties,  whose  existence 
deeply  molded  and  colored  early  Christian  history.  Yet 
these  parties,  Pharisees  and  Sadducees,  were  not  a  new 
rift  in  Judaism  in  the  days  of  Jesus.  They  have  an  inter- 
esting history  and  a  paramount  influence  in  the  political 
and  religious  life  of  Judaism  for  two  centuries  preceding 
the  advent  of  Christ.  This  chapter  discusses  the  origin 
of  these  parties,  presents  their  leading  religious  beliefs, 
and  estimates  their  contribution  to  the  development  of  the 
kingdom  of  God. 

The  Sadducees 

The  student  will  recall  that  from  the  earliest  appear- 
ance of  Hebrew  law  the  priests  were  its  custodians  and 
interpreters.  Three  separate  codifications  arose  in  the 
course  of  Hebrew  and  Jewish  history:  the  Covenant  Code, 
the  Deuteronomic  Code,  and  the  Priests'  Code.  Each  of 
these  seemed  sufficient  in  its  day.  But  the  formulation 
of  a  new  code  witnesses  to  the  insufficiency  of  earlier  legis- 
lation to  meet  the  changing  conditions  of  society.  With 
the  introduction  of  the  Priests'  Code,  under  the  guidance 
of  Ezra,  this  process  of  formulating  new  written  codes 
ceased.  However,  this  last  code,  so  given  over  to  cere- 
monial law,  could  not  keep  pace  with  the  developing  needs 
of  the  Jewish  state.  At  least  as  early  as  300  B.  C.  this 
situation  was  clearly  felt,  on  the  one  hand,  by  the  scribes 
— priests  who  gave  themselves  more  to  teaching  and  ex- 
plaining the  law  than  to  conducting  the  ritual  of  wor- 
ship— ,  and  on  the  other  by  the  leading  priests,  who,  by 
virtue  of  their  religious  headship  of  the  Jewish  com- 
munity, were  forced  more  and  more  into  political  position 

242 


JEWISH  RELIGIOUS  PARTIES  243 

by  the  necessity  of  the  Jews  to  treat  with  the  Greek  king- 
doms of  Egypt  and  Syria.  In  the  two  previous  chapters 
we  have  seen  something  of  the  appeal  of  this  Greek  civil- 
ization to  the  Jewish  mind.  Now,  it  was  the  Jewish  aris- 
tocracy— the  rich,  priestly  families  who  had  come  into  the 
political  as  well  as  the  religious  headship  of  the  postexilic 
community — who  responded  to  the  allurement  of  Greek 
life.  The  insufficiency  of  Jewish  ceremonial  law  to  satisfy 
life's  fullest  needs  the  more  aristocratic  members  of  the 
Jewish  community  sought  to  meet  by  a  set  of  worldly, 
political,  and  universal  interests.  They  took  a  deeper  in- 
terest in  the  world  immediately  at  hand.  This  is  the  char- 
acteristic feature  of  the  Sadducean  party. 

Undoubtedly  the  Maccabean  uprising  crushed  out  the 
extreme  Hellenists  among  the  Jews.  But  when  the  Jewish 
state  won  its  political  independence  under  the  Maccabees, 
and  on  under  the  Romans,  there  was  an  influential  number 
of  wealthy  families,  chiefly  among  the  priests,  who,  though 
they  subscribed  to  the  law,  held  fast  to  their  worldly  and 
universalizing  views.  They  subscribed  willingly  enough 
to  the  law  laid  down  in  the  Pentateuch,  but  they  had  little 
patience  with  the  new  views,  which  were  becoming  more 
and  more  authoritative  among  the  Pharisaic  scribes.  It  was 
this  class,  the  aristocrats,  who,  upheld  by  wealth  and  posi- 
tion, were  inclined  to  find  this  world  a  good  place  to  live 
in  and  who,  feeling  the  narrowness  of  Judaistic  legalism, 
supplemented  it  by  seeking  something  of  the  liberalism 
of  the  Gra3co-Roman  civilization  (which  surged  even  into 
Jerusalem),  which  came  to  be  known  as  Sadducees. 

Examine  carefully  the  following  concerning  the  Sad- 
ducees, taken  from  Josephus: 

"The  Pharisees  have  delivered  to  the  people  a  great 
many  observances  which  are  not  written  in  the  law  of 
Closes.  For  this  reason  the  Sadducees  reject  them  and 
say,  'We  esteem  those  observances  to  be  obligatory  which 
are  in  the  written  word,  but  are  not  to  observe 
what  are  derived  from  the  tradition  of  our  fore- 
fathers/ Concerning  these  things  great  disputes  and  dif- 
ferences have  arisen  among  them.     The   Sadducees  are 


244  THE  EELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

able  to  persuade  none  but  the  rich,  but  the  Pharisees  have 
the  multitude  on  their  side"  (Ant.,  xiii,  10,  6). 

"The  doctrine  of  the  Sadducees  is  this:  that  souls  die 
with  the  bodies ;  nor  do  they  regard  anything  besides  what 
the  law  enjoins  them.  But  this  doctrine  is  received  but 
by  a  few,  yet  by  those  of  the  greatest  dignity"  (Ant., 
xviii,  1,  Jf). 

"Ananias  was  of  the  sect  of  the  Sadducees,  who  are  very 
rigid  in  judging  offenders"  (Ant.,  xx,  9,1). 

"The  Sadducees  suppose  that  God  is  not  concerned  in 
our  doing  or  not  doing  what  is  evil  and  they  say  to  act 
what  is  good  or  what  is  evil  is  man's  own  choice.  They 
also  take  away  the  belief  of  the  immortal  duration  of  the 
soul  and  the  punishments  and  rewards  in  Hades"  (Wars 
of  the  Jews,  ii,  8,  IJf). 

There  is  to  be  found  in  the  Book  of  Enoch  a  section 
written  by  a  Pharisee  which  gives  something  of  the  Phar- 
isaic opinion  of  the  Sadducees  at  about  90  B.  C.  Note 
attentively  the  following  lines: 

"Woe  to  you,  ye  rich,  for  ye  have  trusted  in  your  riches. 
Ye  have  committed  blasphemy  and  unrighteousness. 
Woe  to  you  who  requite  your  neighbor  with  evil. 
Woe  to  you,  lying  witnesses 
And  to  those  who  weigh  out  injustice ; 
Woe  to  you,  sinners,  for  ye  persecute  the  righteous. 
For  ye  shall  be  delivered  up  and  persecuted  because  of 
injustice. 

"And  heavy  shall  its  yoke  be  upon  you. 
Woe  to  you,  ye  sinners,  for  your  riches  make  you  appear 

like  the  righteous. 
Woe  to  you  who  devour  the  finest  of  the  wheat. 
And  drink  wine  in  large  bowls. 
And  tread  under  foot  the  lowly  in  your  might. 
Woe  to  you  who  drink  water  from  every  fountain, 
For  suddenly  shall  ye  be  consumed  and  wither  away. 
Because  ye  have  have  forsaken  the  fountain  of  life." 

From  these  quotations  it  will  be  seen  (1)  that  the  Sad- 


JEWISH  KELIGIOUS  PARTIES  245 

ducees  were  a  party  of  aristocrats,  men  of  wealth  and 
position,  mostly  priests  given  over  to  the  sensual  living 
and  the  oppression  of  the  poor  which  ever  characterized 
the  upper  classes  in  Israel;  (2)  that  they  considered  only 
the  written  law  binding — that  is,  the  Pentateuch  as  we 
now  have  it;  (3)  that  they  clung  to  older  religious  views 
with  regard  to  the  resurrection  and  angels,  denying  both; 
and  (4)  that  they  parted  with  the  older  view  that  every 
act  of  man,  good  and  bad,  was  divinely  directed,  and  em- 
phasized the  freedom  of  the  human  will. 

The  Pharisees 

In  another  way  did  many  Jews  supplement  the  Ezra 
legislation.  The  continued  failure  of  the  postexilic  Jews 
to  set  up  a  Messianic  kingdom  at  Jerusalem  led  to  a  the- 
ological development  in  two  directions.  It  seemed  to  those 
scribes  who  reflected  upon  these  successive  disappoint- 
ments that  Jehovah  had  withdrawn  from  immediate  su- 
pervision of  the  world  and  given  over  earth's  sovereignty 
to  angels:  to  superhuman  beings  intermediate  between 
God  and  men.  Then,  too,  the  sufferings  of  those  who  were 
loyal  to  the  new  order  of  life  which  followed  after  Ezra 
seemed  so  terribly  to  arraign  the  divine  government  of  the 
world.  Job's  problem  was  greatly  accentuated  in  the 
earliest  Maccabean  period.  Hence,  there  appeared,  as  a 
logical  necessity,  the  belief  in  a  new  society  in  which  the 
persecuted  righteous  of  the  present  world  order  would  be 
rewarded  for  their  faithfulness.  Since  death  comes  to 
many  who  ought  to  share  this  happier  day,  they  must  be 
resurrected  from  the  gloomy  Sheol  and  restored  again  to 
the  light  and  joy  of  day. 

The  foregoing  tendencies  came  to  a  climax  in  the  bitter 
persecution  under  Antiochus  Epiphanes.  We  have  seen 
that  Hellenism  made  deep  inroads  into  the  priestly  aris- 
tocracy of  Jerusalem.  In  other  circles,  especially  among 
the  poor  in  the  city  and  in  the  country  villages,  in  reaction 
against  the  Hellenized  Jews  there  were  aroused  a  more 
ardent  piety  and  a  loyalty  to  Jewish  beliefs  and  practices. 


246  THE  EELIGION  OF  JIJDAH 

These  were  known  as  Chasidim,  "the  godly  ones/' 
Enough  prominent  Jews  cast  in  their  lot  among  them  to 
give  them  the  organization  of  a  party.  When  the  Macca- 
bees raised  the  standard  of  revolt,  the  Chasidim  rallied 
around  them.  In  the  first  stage  of  the  conflict  with  the 
forces  of  Antiochus  their  intense  devotion  to  the  law  was 
exhibited  in  their  refusal  to  fight  or  to  defend  themselves 
on  the  Sabbath.  The  troops  of  Antiochus  having  assailed 
a  company  of  a  thousand  men,  women,  and  children  on 
this  sacred  day,  these  pious  Jews,  rather  than  break  the 
law,  raised  no  hand  against  the  Syrian  forces  but  stood 
with  silent  resignation  until  the  last  one  was  cut  down. 
When  the  Maccabees  secured  religious  liberty,  these  Chasi- 
dim were  satisfied  and  for  a  time  were  alienated  from  these 
champions  of  political  liberty.  For  a  brief  period  under 
John  Hyrcanus,  who  was  regarded  as  a  prophet  and  who 
held  the  office  of  high  priest  and  was  called  a  king,  the 
Chasidim,  or  Pharisees,  gave  their  support  to  the  Macca- 
bean  party.  Again  there  followed  a  period  of  distrust  and 
alienation  until  Alexandra  occupied  the  throne.  She  made 
peace  with  the  Pharisees.  From  this  time  on  affairs  were 
largely  in  their  hands. 

There  is  a  considerable  body  of  literature  coming  from 
the  Chasidim,  or  Pharisees,  which  makes  clear  their  be- 
liefs : 

Psalms. — There  are  many  Psalms  in  our  present  Psalter 
which  were  written  in  the  Greek  and  Maccabean  periods 
and  which  express  the  beliefs,  the  fears,  the  hopes,  and 
the  piety  of  the  Chasidim.  Among  these  Psalms  are  44, 
60,  74,  77,  79,  80,  82,  83,  86,  88,  94,  109,  129,  143,  and 
144.  These  Psalms  should  be  read  in  the  light  of  this  his- 
torical period.  Examine  especially  Psalms  82  and  94.  In 
82.  1,  2,  6,  7  is  seen  a  characteristic  Chasidic  and  Phar- 
isaic belief.  The  prologue  of  the  book  of  Job  and  the 
prophecies  of  Zechariah  have  familiarized  us  with  the  con- 
ception of  a  heavenly  court.  Various  writings  of  the 
Greek  and  Maccabean  period  enlarge  upon  this  angelology. 
Daniel  10.  13,  20;  11.  1  assumes  a  belief  in  a  patron  angel 
for  each  nation.     The  prince  of  Persia  is  the  patron  or 


JEWISH  RELIGIOUS  PARTIES  247 

guardian  angel  of  Persia.  Michael  is  the  guardian  angel 
of  the  Jews.  The  gods  of  Psalms  82.  1  are  these  guardian 
angels.  In  82.  6,  7  it  is  asserted  that  these  patron  angels 
shall  perish.  The  author  of  this  Psalm,  like  the  author 
of  Daniel,  believes  that  the  destinies  of  nations  are  bound 
up  with  their  patron  angels.  So  when  the  psalmist  pre- 
dicts the  destruction  of  the  angels  of  the  nations  that  have 
oppressed  the  Jew  he  is  afifirming  in  the  most  emphatic 
manner  the  overthrow  of  the  nations  themselves.  Psalms 
82.  3,  4  is  a  little  cry  for  help  which  reflects  the  sorrows 
of  the  early  Pharisees. 

Read  also  Psalm  94  for  an  insight  into  the  sorrows  of 
the  Chasidim,  or  early  Pharisees.  Observe  verse  7  for  a 
characteristic  Sadducean  belief.  In  what  way  does  this 
Chasidic  poet  answer  the  teaching  that  Jehovah  is  far 
removed  from  the  knowledge  of  man's  ways?  See  94.  12- 
23  for  the  strong  faith  of  these  persecuted  Jews  in  the 
midst  of  dire  calamities. 

The  Book  of  Enoch. — The  Book  of  Enoch  is  a  collection 
of  Chasidic  and  Pharisaic  writings  dating  from  190  to 
64  B.  C.     There  are  several  characteristic  ideas: 

(a)  The  origin  of  evil  is  due  not  to  mans  transgression 
hut  to  the  lust  of  angels.  "And  it  came  to  pass  when  the 
children  of  men  had  multiplied  that  in  those  days  were 
born  unto  them  beautiful  and  comely  daughters.  And  the 
angels,  the  children  of  heaven,  saw  and  lusted  after  them, 
and  said  to  one  another :  Come,  let  us  choose  us  wives  from 
among  the  children  of  men.'*  There  were  about  two  hun- 
dred angels  who  took  human  wives.  The  offspring  of 
these  unions  were  giants.  The  immediate  result  of  these 
marriages  was  a  flood  of  godlessness.  The  giants  them- 
selves perished  fighting  each  other.  After  their  death 
their  angelic  fathers  were  imprisoned  to  await  the  day  of 
judgment.  At  the  death  of  the  giants  their  souls  became 
the  demons  who  go  about  the  earth  to  cause  every  form 
of  evil.  To  them  are  due  the  vast  pains  and  sorrows  of 
mankind. 

(h)  Angelology. — The  Book  of  Enoch  revels  in  angels. 
^'I  saw  thougandg  of  thousands  and  ten  thousand  times 


248  THE  EELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

ten  thousands,  I  saw  a  multitude  beyond  number  and  reck- 
oning, who  stood  before  the  Lord  of  spirits/'  The  cher- 
ubim and  serapim  of  the  older  literature  are  now  con- 
sidered angels.  There  are  seven  archangels:  Uriel  is  the 
overseer  of  the  natural  world,  Eaphael  is  in  charge  of  the 
departed  spirits  of  mankind,  Eaguel  is  prince  of  the  stars, 
Michael  is  the  angelic  patron  of  the  Jews,  Saraqael  rules 
the  spirits  of  mankind  who  continue  to  sin,  Eemiel  is  in 
charge  of  the  resurrection,  and  Gabriel  is  over  paradise. 
Then  there  are  angels  over  the  sea,  hail,  hoarfrost,  mist, 
and  rain.  In  addition  to  Michael  seventy  angels  are  the 
shepherds  of  Israel.  The  Pharisees  had  no  thoroughly 
worked-out  system  of  angelic  rule.  The  foregoing  is  only 
typical  of  the  vast  functioning  of  the  angels  in  the  universe 
according  to  Pharisaic  thought. 

(c)  Retribution,  judgment,  and  resurrection. — There 
were  pronounced  Pharisaic  views  concerning  these,  but 
they  will  be  dealt  with  in  the  next  chapter. 

{d)  These  writers  in  the  Boole  of  Enoch  had  clear  moral 
vision.    Compare  the  following  with  many  of  the  Psalms : 

"And  now  I  say  unto  you,  my  sons,  love  righteousness  and 
walk  therein ; 

For  the  paths  of  righteousness  are  worthy  of  accepta- 
tion. 

But  the  paths  of  unrighteousness  shall  suddenly  be  de- 
troyed  and  vanish. 

Seek  and  choose  for  yourselves  righteousness  and  an  elect 
life. 

And  walk  in  the  paths  of  peace. 

And  ye  shall  live  and  prosper." 

The  Testament  of  the  Twelve  Patriarchs. — This  book 
was  written  by  a  Pharisee  between  109  and  106  B.  C.  At 
this  time  John  Hyrcanus  was  at  the  front  in  Judaean 
affairs.  ^'The  Maccabean  dynasty  had  now  reached  the 
zenith  of  its  prosperity,  and  in  its  reigning  representa- 
tive, who  alone  in  the  history  of  Judaism  possessed 
the  triple  offices  of  prophet,,  priest,  and  king,  the  Phar- 


JEWISH  KELIGIOUS  PARTIES  249 

isaic  party  had  come  to  recognize  the  actual  Messiah.  But 
the  main  value  of  the  book  lies  not  in  this  province  but 
in  its  ethical  teaching,  which  has  achieved  a  real  immor- 
tality by  influencing  the  thought  and  diction  of  the  writers 
of  the  New  Testament  and  even  those  of  our  Lord.  This 
ethical  teaching,  which  is  infinitely  higher  and  purer  than 
that  of  the  Old  Testament,  is  yet  its  true  spiritual  child 
and  helps  to  bridge  the  chasm  that  divides  the  ethics  of  the 
Old  and  New  Testament."'  Consider  closely  the  following 
remarkable  passage: 

"Love  ye  one  another  from  the  heart;  and  if  a  man  sin 
against  thee,  speak  peaceably  to  him,  and  in  thy  soul  hold 
not  guile;  and  if  he  repent  and  confess,  forgive  him.  But 
if  he  deny  it,  do  not  get  into  a  passion  with  him,  lest 
catching  the  poison  from  thee  he  take  to  swearing,  and 
so  thou  sin  doubly.  And  though  he  deny  it,  and  yet 
have  a  sense  of  shame  when  reproved,  give  over  reproving 
him.  For  he  who  denieth  may  repent  so  as  not  again 
to  wrong  thee;  yea,  he  may  also  honor  thee  and  be  at 
peace  with  thee.  But  if  he  be  shameless  and  persisteth  in 
his  wrongdoing,  even  so  forgive  him  from  the  heart  and 
leave  to  God  the  avenging.^' 

Meditate  also  upon  this  exalted  path  of  ethical  con- 
duct: 

"If  a  man  prospereth  more  than  you,  do  not  be  vexed, 
but  pray  also  for  him,  that  he  may  have  perfect  prosperity. 
For  so  it  is  expedient  for  you.  And  if  he  be  further  ex- 
alted, be  not  envious,  remembering  that  all  flesh  shall  die; 
and  offer  praise  to  God,  who  giveth  things  good  and  prof- 
itable to  all  men.  Seek  out  the  judgments  of  the  Lord, 
and  thy  mind  will  rest  and  be  at  peace.*' 

The  student  will  recall  that  the  Gospels  unite  the  love 
of  God  and  the  love  of  one's  neighbor  as  the  sum  of  the 
commandments.  These  two  paramount  duties  of  religion 
already  were  conjoined  nearly  a  century  and  a  half  before 
our  Lord  summed  up  the  commandments  for  the  scribe 
who  questioned  him  (Mark  12.  28-33)  :  "Love  the  Lord  and 


»  Tettament  of  the  Twelve  Patriarchs,  Charles,  pages  xv  and  xvii. 


250  THE  EELIGIOISr  OF  JUDAH 

your  neighbor    (Test:  Issachar  5.  2).     Issachar  further 
declares  (7.  6)  : 

"I  loved  the  Lord  with  all  my  strength; 
Likewise  also  every  man  with  all  my  heart/' 

Also,  Dan  advises  (5.  3)  : 

"Love  the  Lord  through  all  your  life, 
And  one  another  with  a  true  heart/' 

There  is  a  beautiful  spirit  of  universalism  in  the  Testa- 
ment.    Consider  the  following: 

"If  ye  be  darkened  through  transgressions,  what,  there- 
fore, will  all  the  Gentiles  do  living  in  blindness?  Yea,  ye 
shall  bring  a  curse  upon  our  race,  because  the  light  of 
the  law  which  was  given  to  lighten  every  man,  this  ye 
desire  to  destroy  by  teaching  commandments  contrary  to 
the  will  of  God." 

Speaking  of  the  Temple,  this  author  writes : 

"And  the  twelve  tribes  shall  be  gathered  together  there, 
and  all  the  Gentiles  until  the  Most  High  shall  send  forth 
his  salvation." 

The  Essenes 

At  least  a  century  before  the  Christian  era  there  arose 
among  the  Jews  an  ultra-Pharisaic  sect  known  as  Es- 
senes.    Of  them  Philo  writes: 

"They  are  preeminently  worshiping  servants  of  God. 
They  do  not  sacrifice  animals  but  study  to  keep  their 
minds  in  a  saintly  frame.  They  reside  in  villages,  shun- 
ning town  life  on  account  of  the  lawless  manners  of  towns- 
folk. They  do  not  treasure  up  silver  and  gold.  You 
would  not  discover  among  them  any  maker  of  arms  or 
war  engines,  any  one  busied  in  the  slightest  with  military 
avocations.  There  is  not  a  single  slave  among  them. 
None  ventures  to  acquire  any  private  property  at  all. 
They  dwell  together  in  one  place  and  pass  their  whole 
time  in  managing  every  kind  of  business  for  the  common 
good.  They  are  taught  piety,  holiness,  justice,  the  man- 
agement of  affairs,  citizenship,  the  knowledge  of  what  is 


JEWISH  RELIGIOUS  PARTIES  251 

truly  good  or  bad.  Thus,  they  furnish  thousands  of  ex- 
amples of  the  maintaining  of  love  to  God  by  a  close  and 
continuous  purity  maintained  through  life/^ 

Josephus  also  felt  the  charm  of  this  Jewish  monas- 
ticism :  "They  despise  wealth,  and  their  socialism  is  re- 
markable :  you  cannot  find  any  of  them  who  has  more  than 
his  fellows.  They  never  buy  or  sell  among  themselves. 
They  are  peculiarly  scrupulous  in  matters  of  piety.  Be- 
fore sunrise  they  never  speak  a  word  about  profane  mat- 
ters. They  work  assiduously  until  the  fifth  hour,  when 
they  gather  in  one  spot  and,  clothing  themselves  in  linen 
veils,  take  a  cold  bath.  They  enter  the  dining  room  pure 
as  they  would  enter  a  sacred  precinct  and  take  their  seats 
quietly.  No  one  is  allowed  to  partake  of  food  until  the 
priest  offers  a  prayer;  and  after  they  have  breakfasted,  he 
prays  again.  After  this  they  lay  aside  their  garments 
as  sacred  and  resume  their  tasks  till  evening.  Before  one 
is  admitted  to  this  order  he  takes  fearful  oaths:  first  of 
all  to  be  pious  to  the  Deity ;  then  to  practice  justice  toward 
men;  never  to  injure  anyone;  always  to  hate  the  wicked 
and  to  side  with  the  just;  at  all  times  to  show  fidelity 
to  all  men,  and  particularly  to  those  in  authority,  for  no 
one  acquires  power  apart  from  God;  never,  if  he  is  in 
power  himself,  to  vaunt  his  authority  or  to  outshine  his 
subordinates  in  dress  or  finery;  always  to  love  the  truth 
and  to  denounce  liars;  to  keep  his  hands  free  from  theft 
and  his  soul  from  unhallowed  gain." 

There  were  several  thousands  of  these  Essenes  during 
the  days  of  the  ministry  of  Jesus.  They  constituted  a 
truly  monastic  order.  Since  they  did  not  marry,  their 
ranks  were  recruited  from  those  who  were  weary  with  the 
individual  conflict  with  the  world.  They  were  a  truly 
noble  group  of  men,  with  an  exalted  though  limited  social 
and  ethical  vision  in  the  midst  of  bitter  social  evils.  Of 
them  Josephus  writes  further:  "The  Roman  war  showed 
what  great  souls  they  all  had;  for,  though  racked  and 
twisted,  burnt  and  mutilated,  and  subjected  to  every  in- 
strument of  torture  to  make  them  blaspheme  their  Legis- 
lator or  to  eat  forbidden  food,  they  stoutly  refused  to  dg 


252  THE  EELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

either;  not  for  a  moment  would  they  cringe  to  their  tor- 
mentors or  shed  a  tear,  but,  smiling  through  their  anguish, 
they  scornfully  laughed  at  their  tormentors  and  cheer- 
fully gave  up  their  souls  to  receive  them  once  again/' 

Summary 

A  careful  study  of  the  foregoing  material  reveals  the 
diversified  life  of  Judaism  during  the  two  centuries  im- 
mediately preceding  the  Christian  era.  This  period  by 
no  means  is  impoverished  in  kingdom  development.  Dur- 
ing these  two  hundred  years  the  Messianic  beliefs,  the  doc- 
trines of  judgment  and  the  future  life,  the  vast  complex 
of  angelic  functions,  the  finer  ethical  ideals,  and  the  social 
gropings  toward  brotherhood  which  meet  us  in  the  Gospels 
were  taking  shape  and  making  it  possible  for  Jesus  to  win 
disciples  for  his  kingdom  of  God.  Although  legalistic 
Judaism  was  triumphant  through  these  centuries,  it  is 
evident  that  within  the  boundaries  of  this  legalism  the 
spiritual  and  ethical  was  ever  overflowing  the  material- 
istic and  the  ceremonial.  Two  other  important  Pharisaic 
writings,  the  Book  of  Jubilees  and  Psalms  of  Solomon, 
there  is  no  room  to  examine.  It  will  be  a  splendid  day 
when  all  this  literature  becomes  familiar  to  the  Christian 
student. 

Fireside  Thoughts  and  Themes 

The  author  of  the  Testament  of  the  Patriarchs  believed 
that  men  are  saved  in  the  process  of  achieving  noble  char- 
acter, and  not  through  outward  ordinances;  that  salva- 
tion was  not  a  shift  from  hell  to  Paradise,  from  fire  to 
flowers,  but  in  the  change  from  envy,  hate,  and  lust  to 
good  will,  love,  and  purity ;  that  it  was  not  in  the  vicarious 
sacrifice  of  an  animal  or  a  man,  but  in  the  death  of  the 
mean  and  little  within  a  man's  own  soul.  This  author 
would  say  that  salvation  is  in  character,  and  that  in  the 
deepest  sense  no  man  can  save  another,  but  every  man 
must  save  himself.  How  much  truth  is  in  this  thinker's 
position  ? 

The  same  writer  says  that  sin  is  anything  that  breaks 


JEWISH  RELIGIOUS  PARTIES  253 

up  fellowship.  He  believes  that  men  are  to  live  in  glad 
and  just  fellowship  with  each  other  and  with  God.  Any- 
thing that  interrupts  this  open  communion  of  soul  is  sin. 
Forgiveness  is  the  healing  of  this  ruptured  fellowship.  A 
bitter  word,  a  theft,  a  sense  of  superiority,  the  spirit  of 
envy,  often  divide  men  who  ought  to  be  brothers  into 
strangers.  Whatever  makes  fellowship  impossible  between 
men  living  near  together  is  sin,  and  no  man  is  sinless  who 
lives  with  a  broken  fellowship  waiting  for  his  consent  to 
heal  it. 

Is  socialism  possible  in  any  satisfactory  form?  Have 
not  these  Essenes  shown  us  at  least  some  elements  of  the 
perfect  social  order?  Everybody,  except  the  sick  and  the 
infirm,  worked  at  some  useful  employment.  The  rewards 
of  toil  were  shared  alike  by  the  community;  there  was  no 
heaping  up  of  vast  amounts  of  privately  owned  capital. 
They  were  intensely  religious :  a  common  meal  was  a  sacra- 
ment. They  were  obligated  to  justice,  truth,  and  purity. 
They  had  nothing  to  do  with  war.  Work,  brotherhood,  and 
religion  were  the  foundations  upon  which  they  built  their 
order.  What  aspects  of  their  life  is  it  possible  to  repro- 
duce to-day? 

After  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  the  Sadducees  dis- 
appear from  history.  Is  this  because  their  primary  inter- 
ests were  politics?  or  because  they  believed  that  death 
ended  all?  or  for  both  reasons?  Somehow  life  is  almost 
never  lived  sublimely  apart  from  belief  in  the  immortality 
of  the  soul.  It  takes  this  belief  in  continued  existence  to 
lift  life  above  the  trivial  and  the  mean  in  human  affairs. 
Do  not  let  the  immortal  hope  die  down  in  you.  Do  not 
think  that  this  world  is  the  best  world  for  you.  If  you 
wish  to  be  great,  you  must  keep  your  soul  dreaming  of 
the  eternal  dawn  and  the  endless  day. 

Think  of  the  struggles  through  which  our  dearest  treas- 
ures have  been  won.  Our  ideals  of  political  and  religious 
liberty  are  blood-stained  by  myriads  of  martyrs.  Our 
ethical  ideals,  our  democratic  dreams,  our  hopes  of 
immortality,  have  been  baptized  with  Pharisaic  blood. 
They  were  the  heretics,  the  unorthodox,  the  modernists, 


254  THE  RELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

of  their  day.  Orthodoxy  has  very  much  to  its  discredit. 
It  is  usually  reactionary;  it  travels  backward;  it  does 
not  know  the  joy  of  adventuring.  Sunrise,  struggle 
through  twilight  into  day,  the  peace  of  great  victory,  it 
will  have  nothing  of.  All  the  great  spiritual  leaders  of 
the  world  were  modernists  in  their  day  and  had  to  face 
the  stern  blows  of  a  rigid  orthodoxy.  The  Hebrew 
prophets,  Jesus,  Paul,  Luther,  Wesley,  the  early  nine- 
teenth-century missionaries,  and  our  present-day  leaders 
in  religious  education  and  social  reform  all  travel  the 
thorny  road  to  a  golden  social  sunrise.  If  we  cannot  march 
with  them,  let  us  at  least  take  off  our  hats  while  they 
pass  by. 

Questions  to  Be  Discussed 

1.  Wliat  political  events  tended  to  alienate  the  more  in- 
fluential priests  from  the  strict  observance  of  Jewish  law  and 
custom? 

2.  What  class  of  Jews  had  been  attracted  by  Hellenism? 

3.  What  were  the  ambitions  of  those  who  formed  the  Sad- 
ducean  party? 

4.  What  were  the  Sadducean  beliefs  concerning  angels? 
resurrection  of  the  body?  immortality  of  soul?  divine  Provi- 
dence and  human  freedom  of  the  will? 

5.  According  to  the  Sadducees  what  constituted  the  law? 

6.  What  did  they  contribute  toward  the  development  of  the 
kingdom  of  God? 

7.  What  circumstances  compelled  the  development  of  Jew- 
ish beliefs  beyond  the  current  views  in  Ezra's  day? 

8.  Who  were  the  Chasidim?  At  what  time  did  they  come 
to  be  known  as  Pharisees? 

9.  What  was  the  Pharisaic  teaching  concerning  the  law? 
origin  of  evil?  angels?  resurrection  of  the  body?  immortality 
of  soul? 

10.  What  fine  conception  of  sin  and  forgiveness  is  put  for- 
ward by  the  author  of  the  Testament  of  the  Twelve  Patri- 
archs? What  remarkable  summing  up  of  Jewish  law  is  found 
In  the  same  book?  What  can  be  said  for  this  author's  uni- 
versalism? 

11.  What  were  the  chief  views  and  practices  of  the  Essenes? 

12.  What  was  their  contribution  to  the  kingdom  of  God? 

Additional  Lesson  Material 

Wars  of  the  Jews,  Josephus,  Book  II,  Chapter  VIII,  dis- 
cusses  these   three  Jewish   sects.     In  his   Antiquities,   Book 


JEWISH  RELIGIOUS  PARTIES  255 

XIII,  Chapter  X.  5,  6,  and  Book  XVIII,  Chapter  I.  1-6,  there 
are  additional  references  to  the  same  subject. 

The  Book  of  Jubilees,  edited  by  R.  H.  Charles,  throws  much 
light  upon  Pharisaic  beliefs.  It  was  written  between  165  and 
105  B.  C.  by  one  of  the  stricter  Pharisees. 

Examine  the  articles  "Essenes,"  "Pharisees,"  and  "Saddu- 
cees"  in  the  Encyclopedia  of  Religion  and  Ethics. 

A  History  of  the  Jewish  People,  Riggs,  pages  105-39. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 
THE   JEWISH    MESSIANIC    HOPE 

No  subject  is  more  fascinating  or  more  important  in 
the  study  of  Jewish  religion  than  the  study  of  the  devel- 
opment of  Messianic  beliefs.  It  is  the  Messianic  hope, 
more  than  any  other  element  of  Jewish  life,  which  ac- 
counts for  the  preservation  of  Israel  through  centuries  of 
social  disorder  and  destructive  calamities.  Believing  that 
their  God  would  at  some  future  day  chastise  their  enemies, 
recompense  them  for  their  sorrows,  purge  them  of  their 
sins,  and  come  himself  to  organize  their  life  into  con- 
formity to  his  will,  they  were  able  to  endure  a  succession 
of  tidal  waves  of  persecution  which  apart  from  this  hope 
would  have  swept  them  from  the  earth.  This  phenomenon 
alone  would  make  the  Jewish  Messianism  a  compelling 
subject  in  the  study  of  the  world's  religion. 

Then,  too,  Christianity,  and  especially  its  Christ,  offer 
themselves  as  the  fulfillment  of  these  Jewish  dreams. 
John  5.  39  declares  that  Jesus  assured  a  company  of  skep- 
tical Jews  that  the  Old  Testament  bore  its  sacred  and 
solemn  witness  to  the  validity  of  his  own  claims.  Why 
did  not  the  Jews,  the  contemporaries  of  Jesus,  acknowl- 
edge his  Messianic  claims  and  see  in  his  social  program 
the  Messianic  kingdom?  Was  it  stupidity  or  sin?  A 
study  of  these  Messianic  beliefs  will  make  the  answer 
clear. 

Jewish  Messianism  had  little  fixed  content.  Two  fac- 
tors only  are  found  in  every  expression  of  the  Messianic 
hope:  (1)  There  is  to  be  a  new  social  state,  primarily 
of  Israelites,  in  which  the  ills  of  the  present  order  are 
found  no  more.  (2)  God  himself  rules  in  this  new  so- 
ciety; his  will  is  done  fully  and  joyously.  The  form  of 
government,  the  method  of  this  new  society's  appearance, 

256 


THE  JEWISH  MESSIANIC  HOPE  251' 

the  duration  of  this  ideal  state,  together  with  many  other 
details,  shift  from  age  to  age  and  from  author  to  author. 
Any  survey  of  the  Messianic  beliefs  which  reduces  the 
vast  mass  of  material  to  any  order  is  compelled  to  neglect 
many  details.  It  is  hoped  that  the  following  outline  is 
clear  enough  to  be  helpful  without  slurring  over  many 
important  aspects  of  Jewish  Messianism. 

The  Messianic  Hope  Before  the  Exile 

Perhaps  it  may  be  said  that  the  Messianic  hope  first 
appears  as  a  popular  conception  that  was  combated  by 
Amos,  Hosea,  and  Isaiah.  Apparently  the  people,  feel- 
ing that  the  times  were  out  of  joint,  were  looking  forward 
to  a  "day  of  Jehovah,"  to  a  time  when  Jehovah  would 
take  up  the  cause  of  his  people  Israel  and  avenge  them 
against  their  foes.  Amos  sternly  assailed  this  expecta- 
tion. The  nation  itself  needed  purging:  Israel's  most 
dangerous  foes  were  within  her  own  life.  "You  only  have 
I  known  of  all  the  families  of  the  earth:  therefore  I  will 
visit  upon  you  all  your  iniquities."  This  expectation  of 
Amos,  that  at  some  future  day  Jehovah  would  visit  Israel 
in  judgment,  is  the  starting  point  of  prophetic  Messian- 
ism. Isaiah  too  expected  a  fiery  judgment  upon  Israel. 
A  remnant  of  the  nation,  its  dull  conscience  stirred  by  the 
afflicting  judgment  of  Jehovah,  would  turn  again  to  him 
and  inaugurate  the  better  day.  This  new  social  state  was 
to  center  at  Jerusalem.  Extraordinary  fertility  of  soil, 
a  moral  reorganization  of  life,  and  a  Davidic  line  of  kings 
reigning  in  justice  and  righteousness  are  the  salient  fea- 
tures of  Isaiah's  forecast  of  the  golden  age. 

Zephaniah,  who  writes  not  long  before  the  Deutero- 
nomic  reform  of  621  B.  C,  emphasizes  anew  this  Isaian 
Messianism.  But  now  the  day  of  Jehovah  is  a  day  of  judg- 
ment for  the  whole  world.  Read  3.  8,  11-17  and  determine 
the  Messianic  expectations  of  this  prophet.  Note  espe- 
cially that  there  is  no  Messiah:  Jehovah  himself  is  King 
of  Israel.  The  manner  in  which  his  rule  is  carried  out 
is  not  stated. 


258  THE  KELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

Exilic  Messianism 

With  Jeremiah  the  day  of  Jehovah  becomes  primarily 
a  destruction  of  Jerusalem  (1.  11-16;  37.  6-10),  but  the 
nations  too  will  drink  the  cup  of  the  wine  of  Jehovah's 
fury  (25.  15-26).  As  part  of  this  judgment  Israel  will 
be  carried  into  captivity  by  the  Chaldeans.  But  this  dis- 
persion is  not  the  nation's  final  lot:  the  scattered  exiles 
shall  be  brought  again  to  their  own  land  (23.  7,  8;  24.  5, 
6).  There  will  be  a  new  social  order  established  in  Pales- 
tine, and  this  will  be  based  upon  a  new  covenant  between 
Jehovah  and  his  people.  The  certainty  and  the  eternality 
of  this  new  social  order  rest  upon  the  people's  knowledge 
of  their  God  (24.  7;  31.  33,  34).  Examine  3.  15;  24. 
4-7  and  observe  that  Jeremiah  looks  forward  to  a  Mes- 
sianic kingdom.  Does  he  expect  an  individual  Messianic 
King  or  a  dynasty?  Jeremiah  possesses  the  evangelist's 
heart.  He  does  not  limit  the  blessings  of  the  new  order  to 
Israel.  Other  nations  shall  desire  to  sliare  in  the  kingdom's 
benefits  (4.  2)  ;  any  of  Israel's  heathen  enemies  who  repent 
shall  share  the  kingdom's  glories  (12.  14-17),  and  only 
the  unrepentant  heathen  shall  be  destroyed. 

Ezekiel  follows  the  Messianic  program  of  Jeremiah  in 
regard  to  Israel,  but  he  does  not  expect  the  salvation  of 
the  heathen  world.  The  destruction  of  Jerusalem  is  the 
long-expected  judgment  upon  Israel.  Jehovah's  next 
move  is  to  gather  the  exiles  together  and  restore  them  to 
Palestine  (11.  17).  The  restored  exiles,  being  possessed 
by  a  new  God-given  spirit  (11.  20),  will  put  out  of  their 
land  and  life  the  detestable  things  that  formerly  caused 
their  ruin  (11.  18).  Material  prosperity  will  be  the  out- 
ward setting  of  this  new  life  (36.  24-30).  The  new  social 
order  shall  have  its  Messianic  King.  Read  34.  23,  24; 
37.  22  and  observe  that  the  two  former  kingdoms  now 
shall  be  united,  and  a  single  line  of  Davidic  sovereigns 
shall  rule  over  them.  After  this  new  kingdom  has  been 
established  under  its  Messianic  prince  in  Palestine,  the 
nations  of  the  world  will  join  in  a  vast  confederation 
against  it.    But  the  heathen  hordes  will  be  destroyed  upon 


THE  JEWISH  MESSIANIC  HOPE  259 

the  mountains  of  Judah  by  the  might  of  Jehovah.  The 
kingdom  henceforth  will  abide  in  peace.  See  chapters 
38  and  39. 


POSTEXILIC  MeSSIANISM  TO  THE  MaCCABEAN  PeRIOD 

Jeremiah's  expectation  of  an  all-embracing  Messianic 
kingdom  was  not  wholly  lost  sight  of  after  the  Exile.  Ex- 
amine Isaiah  19.  16-25  for  an  extension  of  the  Messianic 
blessings  to  the  Gentiles.  Perhaps  at  about  the  same  period 
— that  is,  in  the  earlier  half  of  the  fifth  century — the 
author  of  Malachi  also  expressed  this  self-same  universal- 
ism.  See  1.  11  for  its  expression.  Several  Psalms  declare 
the  same  hope.  Read  Psalms  22.  27-29;  65.  5-8;  86.  9, 
10.  The  second  Psalm  also  opens  the  Messianic  kingdom 
to  the  penitent  among  the  nations.  Read  closely  the  beau- 
tiful seventy-second  Psalm,  which  so  finely  summarizes 
this  nobler  line  of  prophetic  Messianism.  Here  too  a 
line  of  Messianic  sovereigns  is  understood. 

Unfortunately  other  Jewish  writers,  following  Ezekiel, 
limited  the  i\lessianic  blessings  to  Israel.  By  some 
prophets  a  complete  destruction  of  non-Jewish  peoples  is 
expected.  See  Micah  4.  11-13.  Here  Israel  is  to  beat  the 
nations  into  pieces  and  seize  their  possessions  for  them- 
selves. Isaiah  59.  17-19;  63.  1-6  predict  a  great  destruc- 
tion of  the  nations.  Those  Gentiles  who  are  not  destroyed 
will  become  the  servants  of  the  Jews  in  the  Messianic  age. 
They  will  build  the  walls  of  Jerusalem  (Isaiah  60.  10)  ; 
they  will  humble  themselves  before  the  Jew  (60. 
14)  ;  they  will  pour  the  treasures  of  their  empire  into 
Jerusalem  (60.  16,  17) ;  they  shall  become  Israel's  herds- 
men and  husbandmen  (61.  5). 

Haggai  and  Zechariah,  as  we  have  seen  in  earlier  chap- 
ters, regarded  Zerubbabel  as  the  Messiah  and  expected  the 
Messianic  kingdom  to  be  inaugurated  at  the  completion 
of  the  second  Temple.  See  Haggai  2.  20-23;  Zechariah 
3.  8;  6.  12.  (Compare  these  last  two  references  with 
Zechariah  4.  9,  and  it  becomes  clear  that  Zerubbabel  is 
the  Messiah.)     Zechariah  predicts  a  judgment  of  the  na- 


260  THE  RELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

tions  (2.  8,  9),  but  after  this  purging  there  will  be  a  turn- 
ing of  the  nations  toward  Jehovah  (2.  11).  These  na- 
tions shall  come  to  Jerusalem  to  worship  him  (8.  20-23). 
Chapters  65  and  66  of  Isaiah,  written  some  time  during 
the  fifth  century,  present  a  new  feature  in  this  postexilic 
,  Messianism.  Even  the  new  physical  order  of  life  is  a  dis- 
tinct break  with  the  past.  Examine  Isaiah  65.  17-25;  66. 
22-24  for  the  details.  In  this  new  earth  men  shall  live  to 
a  grand  old  age:  he  who  dies  under  a  hundred  years  shall 
be  considered  to  have  been  cut  off  prematurely  in  his 
youth.  Animals  lose  their  ferocity,  and  sorrow  is  at  an 
end. 

Joel,  who  writes  about  400  B.  C,  following  Ezekiel, 
brings  the  heathen  nations  to  Jerusalem  to  be  destroyed 
(3.  1,  2).  With  Joel  the  day  of  Jehovah  is  a  sifting  of 
Israel.  Jehovah  will  pour  out  his  Spirit  upon  his  people, 
and  those  who  seek  him  shall  be  saved  (2.  28,  29,  32). 
Nature  herself  will  shudder  at  his  judgments  (2.  30,  31; 
3.  14-16).  The  restored  kingdom  is  blessed  with  material 
prosperity  (2.  19-27). 

Zechariah  9  to  14  was  written  some  time  between  300 
B.  C.  and  the  Maccabean  period.  Like  Ezekiel  he  ex- 
pects the  heathen  hordes  to  march  upon  Jerusalem,  but 
they  will  be  destroyed  (12.  3-9).  However,  the  slaughter 
will  not  be  complete,  and  the  remnant  of  the  nations  will 
then  turn  to  Jehovah.  Failure  to  visit  Jerusalem  an- 
nually will  be  punished  by  drought  (14.  16-19). 

The  Messianic  Hope  in  the  Second  Centuey  B.  C. 

Daniel  was  written  about  168  B.  C.  Eead  7.  9-27  and 
note  that  when  the  world's  evils  have  reached  their  great- 
est bitterness — that  is,  in  the  days  of  the  Antiochean  per- 
secution, the  writer's  own  times — ,  Jehovah  sets  up  his 
judgment  throne.  He  is  the  "Ancient  of  Days."  Ob- 
serve that  the  kingdom  which  persecutes  Israel  is  destroyed 
(7.  11),  and  other  nations  lose  their  dominion 
(7.  12).  The  "one  like  unto  a  son  of  man" 
(verse  13)  is  the  Jewish  people  (see  7.  27),    All  surviving 


THE  JEWISH  MESSIANIC  HOPE  261 

nations  are  subject  to  this  Messianic  kingdom.  Observe 
that  there  is  nothing  said  about  a  Messianic  King.  It 
is  in  connection  with  this  kingdom  that  the  resurrection  is 
first  brought  into  prominence.  Those  who  have  labored 
and  suffered  for  this  kingdom  in  an  extraordinary  degree 
and  who  have  died  before  its  appearance  are  brought  up 
from  Sheol  to  share  its  glories  (12.  2).  Those  who  have 
been  the  foremost  enemies  of  this  coming  kingdom  like- 
wise shall  be  brought  from  Sheol  to  have  visited  upon  them 
a  corresponding  punishment   (12.  2). 

From  the  second  century  comes  the  third  book  of  the 
Sibylline  Oracles,  with  its  predictions  of  a  Messiah  who 
will  subdue  hostile  nations  and  set  up  his  kingdom  in 
peace  and  prosperity  in  Jerusalem: 

'^Then  a  kingdom  over  all  mankind 
Shall  he  raise  up  for  ages, 
And  out  of  every  land  unto  the  house 
Of  the  great  God  shall  they  bring  frankincense 
And  gifts,  and  there  shall  be  no  other  house 
To  be  inquired  of  by  men  yet  to  be, 
But  what  God  gave  for  faithful  men  to  honor ; 
For  mortals  ^temple  of  the  mighty  God' 
Shall  call  it.    And  all  the  pathways  of  the  plain 
And  rough  hills  and  high  mountains  and  wild  waves 
Of  the  deep  shall  be  easy  in  those  days 
For  crossing  and  for  sailing;  for  all  peace 
On  the  land  of  the  good  shall  come;  and  sword 
Shall  prophets  of  the  mighty  God  remove; 
For  they  are  judges  and  the  righteous  kings 
Of  mortals.    And  there  shall  be  righteous  wealth 
Among  mankind;  for  of  the  mighty  God 
This  is  the  judgment  and  also  the  power"  (III,  954-75). 

Enoch  6  to  36  was  composed  at  about  the  same  period 
as  the  book  of  Daniel.  Here  the  Messianic  kingdom  is 
to  be  inaugurated  after  a  judgment,  and  the  righteous 
dead  shall  arise  to  share  with  the  living  righteous  its 
blessings.    These  blessings  are  nearly  wholly  of  the  senses. 


262  THE  RELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

The  tree  of  life,  which  once  stood  in  the  Garden  of  Eden, 
shall  be  transplanted  to  the  Temple  at  Jerusalem.  Its 
fruit  shall  be  food  for  the  elect. 

"And  unto  the  holy  place  shall  they  enter; 
And  its  fragrance  [the  tree's]  shall  be  in  their  bones, 
And  they  shall  live  a  long  life  on  earth. 
Such  as  thy  fathers  lived: 
And  in  their  days  shall  no  sorrow  or  plague 
Or  torment  or  calamity  touch  them''  (Enoch  25.  6). 

"Then  shall  all  the  righteous  escape. 
And  shall  live  till  they  beget  thousands  of  children. 
And  all  the  days  of  their  youth  and  their  old  age  shall 

they  complete  in  peace. 
Then  shall  the  whole  earth  be  tilled  in  righteousness. 
And  shall  be  planted  with  trees  and  be  full  of  blessing. 
The  vine  shall  yield  wine  in  abundance, 
Each  measure  of  seed  shall  yield  a  thousandfold. 
And  each  measure  of  olives  shall  yield  ten  presses  of  oil" 
(Enoch  10.  17-19). 

There  are,  however,  the  ethical  blessings  of  truth  and  peace 
to  make  these  outward  goods  enjoyable.  The  earth  shall 
be  cleansed  from  all  defilement,  sin,  punishment,  and  tor- 
ment (10.  22),  and  the  Gentiles  shall  share  in  these  bless- 
ings (10.  21). 

The  author  of  Enoch  83  to  90,  who  writes  a  few  years 
later  than  the  book  of  Daniel,  accounts  for  the  excessive 
afflictions  of  Israel  by  supposing  that  God  committed  Is- 
rael to  the  care  of  seventy  angels,  who  have  neglected  this 
trust.  In  the  midst  of  the  Syrian  persecution  God  will 
set  up  his  judgment-throne.  He  will  condemn  the  lust- 
ful angels  who  introduced  sin  into  the  world  and  then 
the  seventy  faithless  angels.  The  apostate  Jews  are  then 
cast  into  Gehenna.  Then  he  will  set  up  the  New  Jerusa- 
lem (90.  29).  Those  Gentiles  who  took  no  part  in  the 
oppression  of  Israel  will  serve  Jehovah  (90.  30)  ;  the 
righteous  dead  will  rise  to  share  in  the  kingdom.     Then 


THE  JEWISH  MESSIANIC  HOPE  263 

the  Messiah  will  be  born,  and  all  the  members  of  the 
kingdom  will  be  transformed  into  his  likeness. 

The  Testament  of  the  Twelve  Patriarchs  was  written 
between  109  and  106  B.  C.  It  teaches  that  the  Messiah 
comes  from  the  tribe  of  Levi,  and  not  Judah.  "This 
priestly  Messiah  was  to  be  free  from  sin  to  walk  in  meek- 
ness and  righteousness,  to  be  a  mediator  for  the  Gentiles, 
to  be  a  prophet  of  the  Most  High,  to  be  King  over  all  the 
nations,  to  war  against  IsraePs  enemies  and  the  powers  of 
wickedness,  to  open  paradise  to  the  righteous.  The  scene 
of  the  future  kingdom  is  the  present  earth,  and  it  is  to 
last  forever."! 

The  writer  of  the  Book  of  Jubilees  (before  105  B.  C.) 
believed  the  Messianic  kingdom  already  had  set  in.  The 
kingdom,  like  a  grain  of  mustard  seed,  was  to  continue 
to  develop  until  it  was  fully  consummated.  The  righteous 
attained  a  thousand  years,  and  sinners  were  prematurely 
cut  off  at  a  hundred.  The  kingdom,  which  has  only  a 
temporary  duration,  is  ended  by  a  general  judgment. 
There  is  no  resurrection.  When  the  righteous  die,  their 
spirits  pass  at  once  to  paradise. 

The  Messianic  Hope  in  the  Century  Before  Christ 

Enoch  37  to  71,  written  in  the  first  quarter  of  the  cen- 
tury before  Christ,  holds  to  the  older  notion  of  an  ever- 
lasting Messianic  kingdom.  The  scene  of  this  kingdom  is 
a  transformed  earth. 

"I  will  transform  the  earth  and  make  it  a  blessing; 
But  I  will  cause  my  elect  ones  to  dwell  upon  it : 
But  the  sinners  and  evildoers  shall  not  set  foot  thereon'^ 
(45.  5). 

The  coming  Messiah  is  now  known  as  the  Christ — that 
is,  the  Anointed  One,  the  Righteous  One,  the  Elect  One, 
and  the  Son  of  man.  Sitting  upon  a  glorious  throne,  this 
supernatural  Sovereign  is  the  Judge  of  all  men  and  all 
angels.    The  wicked  are  destroyed  by  his  sword.    The  dead 

1  Eachqiology:  Hebrew,  Jewish,  and  Christian,  Charles,  page  233, 


264  THE  EELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

are  resurrected  to  receive  their  appropriate  rewards:  the 
wicked  to  be  destroyed,  and  the  righteous  to  dwell  eternally 
upon  the  transformed  earth. 

The  Psalms  of  Solomon  were  written  between  70  and  40 
B.  C.  According  to  these  Psalms  the  Messiah  is  a  human 
Prince,  the  descendant  of  David.  Only  God  knows  the  time 
of  his  coming.  When  he  appears  he  will  overthrow  the  sin- 
ners within  the  Judsean  community  and  drive  out  the  Gen- 
tiles from  the  borders  of  Israel.  He  will  gather  the  dis- 
persed Jews  in  Jerusalem  and  restore  the  glory  of  the  Tem- 
ple worship.  The  Gentiles  become  subject  to  him.  He  is  a 
holy,  just,  and  wise  Sovereign.  The  following  lines,  taken 
from  the  seventeenth  psalm,  present  the  leading  features 
of  his  kingdom : 

''Behold,  0  Lord,  and  raise  up  unto  them  their  king, 
In  the  time  which  thou,  0  God,  knowest, 
That  he  may  reign  over  Israel  thy  servant. 
Purge   Jerusalem   from   the   heathen   that  trample  her 

down  to  destroy  her. 
With  wisdom  and  with  righteousness. 
So  that  the  nations  may  come  from  the  ends  of  the  earth 

to  see  his  glory. 
Bringing  as  gifts  her  sons  that  had  fainted. 
And  there  shall  be  no  iniquity  in  his  days  in  their  midst, 
For  all  shall  be  holy,  and  their  king  is  the  Lord  Messiah. 
He  shall  bless  the  people  of  the  Lord  with  wisdom  and 

gladness. 
He  himself  is  pure  from  sin,  so  that  he  may  rule  a  mighty 

people. 
And  rebuke  princes  and  overthrow  sinners  by  the  might 

of  his  word. 
Blessed  are  they  that  shall  be  born  in  those  days  to  behold 

the  blessing  of  Israel.'' 

Summary 

Despite  these  many  details  the  Messianic  hope  was  more 
varied  than  it  is  here  outlined.  Enough  has  been  given  to 
show  what  diversified  expectations  encouraged  the  Jews 


THE  JEWISH  MESSIANIC  HOPE  265 

in  the  many  perplexing  hours  of  their  history.  This  hope 
of  a  brighter  future  grew  out  of  a  bitter  sense  of  the 
limitations  of  the  present  world.  It  may  be  said  that  the 
prevailing  elements  in  this  Messianic  hope  are  (1)  a  sense 
of  the  need  of  judgment  upon  the  sinners  within  Israel  and 
upon  the  nations  hostile  to  Israel;  (2)  a  belief  in  the  rise 
of  a  new  society,  primarily  within  Israel,  from  which  sin 
is  purged,  and  which  hostile  nations  no  longer  oppress; 
(3)  a  belief  that  this  new  society  is  on  earth,  that  its  cen- 
ter is  Jerusalem,  and  that  it  is  blessed  with  many  forms 
of  material  prosperity;  (4)  a  belief  that  God's  will  is  done 
completely  in  the  new  social  state.  Next  follow  two  ele- 
ments that  are  characteristic  of  many  Jewish  writers:  (1) 
the  resurrection  of  the  righteous  dead  to  share  these  Mes- 
sianic blessings,  and  (2)  the  presence  of  a  Messianic  King, 
who  is  God's  Vicegerent  on  earth.  Then,  there  is  an  ex- 
pansion of  two  elements  of  this  scheme  in  the  furtherance 
of  a  more  perfect  bliss:  (1)  The  earth  is  to  be  transformed, 
and  (2)  the  Messiah  is  regarded  a  supernatural  Being. 
These,  in  the  main,  are  the  elements  of  the  Messianic  hope 
which  were  open  to  any  meditative  Jew  in  the  time  of 
Jesus. 

Putting  beside  these  views  the  teaching  of  Jesus,  it 
becomes  clear  that  the  average  Pharisee  could  not  recog- 
nize in  Jesus  the  Messiah  of  this  expected  kingdom.  In 
the  program  of  Jesus  there  were  lacking  the  salient  fea- 
tures of  Pharisaic  Messianism.  There  was  no  judgment 
upon  wicked  Jew  and  hostile  Gentile,  no  convulsive  natural 
phenomena,  no  outward  marks  of  material  splendor,  no 
guaranty  of  a  regenerated  society  in  the  mechanical 
fashion  in  which  the  Messianic  hope  had  moved.  Apoca- 
lyptic ^lessianism  became  the  prevalent  form  of  the  iVIes- 
sianic  hope,  and  it  was  precisely  this  aspect  of  the  king- 
dom which  was  chiefly  lacking  in  the  life  of  Jesus.  Jesus 
minimized  the  material  setting  of  the  kingdom,  empha- 
sized its  progressive  development,  and  passionately 
preached  that  it  was  a  kingdom  of  the  soul. 

Yet,  in  spite  of  this  formal  chasm  between  the  Jewish 
Messianism  and  the  Messianic  ideals  of  Jesus,  it  is  true 


266  THE  EELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

that  the  needs  out  of  which  the  Messianic  hope  sprang 
are  met  in  Jesus,  for  the  Messianic  hope  is  the  child  of 
the  sense  of  limitation  and  restriction.  The  soul  is  ham- 
pered by  sin  within  and  hostile  forces  of  nature  and  other 
men  without.  The  Messianic  hope  was  an  elaborate 
scheme  to  win  freedom  of  life.  No  one  can  question  that, 
were  the  ideals  of  Jesus  fully  accepted,  these  fullest  needs 
of  life  would  be  met  completely.  A  new  social  order  would 
arise  on  earth  and  would  yield  to  man  great  felicity.  Sin 
would  cease.  The  individual  would  cease  to  be  confronted 
by  a  hostile  humanity.  A  vast  order  of  ills  would  van- 
ish. Whatever  evils  still  beset  man  from  nature,  the  rich 
freedom  vouchsafed  by  the  Christ  spirit  would  be  able  to 
conquer.  And  whenever  the  Jewish  expectations  burst 
across  the  earth's  barriers  and  demanded  a  heaven  for 
man  and  a  share  in  its  blessedness  for  the  righteous  dead, 
the  program  of  Jesus  more  than  meets  the  wildest  dream 
of  those  who  coveted  a  coming  kingdom.  There  does  not 
seem  to  be  a  noble  hope  or  a  real  want  of  the  Hebrew  and 
Jewish  world  which  is  not  adequately  met  in  Jesus  Christ. 
While  we  cannot  pile  up  a  multitude  of  Old-Testament 
texts  that  point  with  an  unmistakable  index  finger  to  Jesus 
of  Nazareth,  we  can  say  that  every  trembling  aspiration 
of  a  thousand  years  of  Jewish  life  finds  a  rich  fulfillment 
in  our  Lord.  In  a  very  comprehensive  sense  all  these  writ- 
ings of  the  Jew  witness  to  his  glorious  Messiahship. 

The  Messianic  Hope  To-Day 

Sometimes  failure  is  the  greatest  success.  Was  not  the 
very  failure  in  the  realization  of  Jewish  Messianism  the 
evidence  that  its  hope  was  too  grossly  materialistic  for 
human  happiness?  Jewish  Messianism  did  not  strike 
deep  enough  into  an  understanding  of  the  nature  of  man. 
There  is  in  man  a  soul,  or,  better,  man  is  soul,  and  no  pro- 
gram of  happiness  will  succeed  which  does  not  reckon 
fully  with  this  spiritual  nature  of  man.  Jewish  Messian- 
ism broke  down  because  its  hopes  were  largely  set  on 
things.  Its  failure  expresses  the  successes  of  the  soul's 
demand  for  full  recognition, 


THE  JEWISH  MESSIANIC  HOPE  267 

Our  Christian  Messianism — our  conception  of  the 
golden  age  of  civilization — is  it  not  far  too  materialistic 
to  succeed?  For  the  essence  of  this  hope  is  in  the  desire 
to  be  in  harmony  with  one's  world.  It  is  a  widespread 
heresy  of  many  social  reformers  that  happier  conditions 
in  natural  surroundings  work  satisfaction  in  man's  inner 
life.  No  effort  at  social  reform,  no  crusade  against  unjust 
conditions  of  toil,  should  be  abated.  But  when  poverty, 
disease,  and  ignorance  are  eliminated  from  the  social  order, 
the  soul  still  will  be  struggling  with  a  material  world,  and 
any  tendency  to  exalt  things  over  soul  ends  in  spiritual 
disaster.  There  is  no  possible  way  of  being  in  harmony 
with  one's  world  save  in  the  minimizing  of  the  physical 
order  of  life.  This  freedom  of  life,  the  subordination  of 
nature  to  the  soul,  was  won  by  Jesus  and  may  be  achieved 
by  any  who  will  follow  the  selfsame  path.  In  this  manner 
alone  will  the  Messianic  dream  be  fulfilled. 

Jesus  realized  the  kingdom  of  God  in  his  own  life.  He 
did  it  by  building  up  the  interests  of  the  soul.  The  soul 
comes  to  its  own  in  fellowship.  For  Jesus  life's  first  mean- 
ing was  to  live  in  comradeship  with  God.  God's  will  was 
to  be  done.  This  was  life's  paramount  issue.  In  the  con- 
sciousness of  seeking  God's  will  and  in  conforming  to  it 
Jesus  won  a  marvelous  freedom  from  the  customary  tor- 
ments of  man.  His  soul  was  magnified  by  this  masterful 
desire  of  his  to  obey  the  Supreme  Will.  His  life  was  en- 
larged too  by  his  passion  for  human  brotherhood.  Jesus 
sought  to  break  down  the  barriers  that  embittered  society 
and  to  enter  sympathetically  into  each  man's  life.  By  this 
passion  his  soul  entered  into  peace  and  strength. 

By  this  triumph  of  soul  he  becomes  the  world's  Messiah. 
All  that  is  essential  in  the  old  hopes  is  fulfilled  in  him. 
The  rule  of  God,  peace  with  mankind,  an  open  door  to  the 
Gentiles,  freedom  from  sin,  victory  over  death,  everlast- 
ing happiness,  a  final  justification  of  God's  dealings  with 
mankind — all  these  appear  in  the  life  achieved  and  com- 
mended by  our  Lord.  The  world  needs  no  other  Messiah. 
No  man  who  really  follows  Jesus  will  feel  any  essential 
detail  of  his  Messianic  desires  lacking  in  him. 


268  THE  RELIGION  OF  JUDAH 


Questions  foe  Study 

1.  What  is  meant  by  the  Messianic  hope?  What  relation 
does  it  sustain  to  Israel's  history?  What  are  the  common 
factors   of   Jewish   Messianism? 

2.  What  form  did  the  hope  of  a  golden  age  first  assume 
among  the  Hebrews?  What  new  meaning  was  given  by  Amos 
to  "the  day  of  Jehovah"?  What  further  advance  was  made 
in  prophetic  Messianism  by  Isaiah?  What  was  Zephaniah's 
contribution? 

3.  What  meaning  was  given  to  "the  day  of  Jehovah"  by 
Jeremiah?  Was  the  sack  of  Jerusalem  in  586  a  fulfillment 
of  the  prophetic  conception  of  the  day  of  Jehovah?  Observe 
that  the  Messianic  hope  now  for  the  first  time  demands  a 
gathering  of  the  scattered  exiles  in  Palestine. 

4.  What  guarantee  does  Jeremiah  offer  that  the  restored 
state  will  not  be  guilty  of  the  same  evils  that  wrought  the 
downfall  of  Samaria  and  Jerusalem?  What  does  Jeremiah 
mean  by  "knowing  God"?  What  political  form  does  this  Mes- 
sianic society  assume?  What  is  its  attitude  toward  the  Gen- 
tiles? 

5.  With  what  ideas  of  Jeremiah  does  Ezekiel  agree?  What 
is  Ezekiel's  attitude  toward  the  heathen  world? 

6.  What  postexilic  writers  followed  Jeremiah  in  his  pro- 
gram for  the  Gentiles? 

7.  Turn  to  the  seventy-second  Psalm  and  determine  whether 
the  Messiah  is  an  individual  or  a  line  of  kings. 

8.  What  are  the  Messiah's  duties  or  offices?  the  duration 
and  extent  of  his  kingdom?  the  kingdom's  relation  to  the 
Gentile  world?  the  material  setting  of  this  golden  age?  the 
scene  of  this  Messianic  empire?  its  ethical  content?  What 
provision  is  made  for  those  who  have  died  before  the  king- 
dom appears? 

9.  What  writers  followed  Ezekiel  in  their  attitude  to  the 
Gentiles?  What  is  their  teaching  concerning  the  heathen 
nations? 

10.  What  new  turn  was  given  to  the  hope  by  Haggai  and 
Zechariah? 

11.  What  two  new  features  appear  in  Joel? 

12.  How  does  the  second  Zechariah  propose  to  secure  the 
worship  of  Jehovah  by  the  remnant  of  the  Gentiles? 

13.  What  moral  need  first  brought  the  resurrection  to  a 
dominant  place  in  Jewish  thinking?  When  did  the  resur- 
rection become  a  part  of  the  Messianic  hope? 

14.  According  to  Daniel,  what  is  the  scene  of  the  Messianic 
kingdom,  and  what  is  the  relation  of  the  Gentiles  to  it? 
Where  is  the  scene  of  this  kingdom,  according  to  the  Sibyl* 
line  Oracles?    What  is  its  duration? 


THE  JEWISH  MESSIANIC  HOPE  269 

15.  What  other  items  are  mentioned  in  the  lines  quoted 
in  this  lesson? 

16.  What  are  the  main  features  of  the  Messianic  hope  in 
Enoch  6  to  36?  How  does  the  author  of  Enoch  83  to  90 
account  for  the  afflictions  of  Israel  under  the  Greeks?  What 
are  his  leading  features  of  the  Messianic  age? 

17.  What  contribution  is  made  by  the  author  of  the  Testa- 
ment of  the  Twelve  Patriarchs? 

18.  What  strikingly  divergent  views  were  held  by  the 
author  of  the  Book  of  Jubilees? 

19.  What  are  the  views  of  Enoch  37  to  71  concerning  the 
person  of  the  Messiah?  concerning  the  scene  of  his  kingdom? 

20.  Who  is  the  Messiah  according  to  the  author  of  the 
Psalms  of  Solomon?  What  are  the  functions  of  his  oflBce? 
What  is  the  scene  of  his  kingdom?  What  provision  is  made 
for  the  righteous  dead? 

21.  Consider  very  carefully  these  general  questions:  (a) 
What  specific  or  detailed  expectations  of  Hebrew  and  Jew- 
ish Messianism  were  fulfilled  in  Jesus  of  Nazareth?  (&) 
What  leading  elements  in  these  centuries  of  Messianic  dreams 
were  wholly  out  of  touch  with  the  kingdom  of  God  as  Jesus 
knew  it?  (Remember  that  the  expected  Jewish  Messianic 
kingdom  is  a  kingdom  of  God.)  (c)  What  general  aspects 
of  these  aspirations  of  Israel  are  realized  in  Jesus?  May  it 
truly  be  said  that  Jesus  satisfies  the  essentials,  if  not  the 
formal  details,  of  all  this  longing  for  a  golden  age? 

Additional  Lesson  Material 

The  Postexilic  Prophets,  Bennett,  pages  347-60. 

The  Religion  of  Israel,  Smith,  pages  293-314. 

The  Religious  Teaching  of  the  Old  Testament,  Knudson, 
pages  351-81. 

The  Theology  of  the  Old  Testament,  Davidson,  pages  356- 
402. 

Article  "Messiah,"  Dictionary  of  the  Bible,  Hastings,  and 
in  his  Dictionary  of  the  Gospels. 

Israel's  Messianic  Hope.  Goodspeed,  collates  the  various  Old- 
Testament  passages  bearing  upon  this  subject. 


CHAPTER  XXV 

THE   JEWISH   SCRIPTUEES 

Theee  are  four  outstanding  achievements  of  the  re- 
ligion of  Israel  which  were  taken  over  by  Christianity 
and  which  are  of  supreme  importance  in  the  development 
of  the  kingdom  of  God.  One  of  these,  and  first  in 
order  of  importance,  is  prophecy.  Prophecy,  as  we  have 
seen  in  many  chapters,  is  that  experience  of  man  in  which, 
conscious  of  immediate  fellowship  with  God,  he  becomes 
aware  of  new  authority  and  new  meanings  in  the  divine 
will  and  so  gives  expression  in  word  and  deed  to  this 
new  life.  In  prophecy  religion  takes  on  its  highest  reality 
*and  originality.  In  consequence  of  this  achievement 
Israel's  prophets  enthroned  the  moral  life  as  the  soul  of 
religion.  This  fellowship  with  God  is  maintained  solely 
in  common  ethical  ideals  and  goals.  Therefore,  it  is 
Israel's  glory  that  she  ethicized  religious  experience  into 
the  commanding  religious  ideal  of  the  world.  Her  third 
gift  to  civilization  is  the  Messianic  hope.  Her  final  out- 
standing service  to  Christianity  centers  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment itself.  Christianity  not  only  inherited  from  Israel 
the  Old-Testament  writings,  which  preserved  so  much  of 
Israel's  religion  during  a  dozen  centuries,  but  obtained 
from  Judaism  the  idea  of  a  sacred  canon.  This  lesson 
sets  forth  what  is  meant  by  the  canonical  Scriptures  and 
the  importance  of  this  idea  in  the  development  of  the 
kingdom  of  God. 

The  Meaning  of  the  Canon 

By  the  Old-Testament  canon  is  meant  the  collection  of 
writings  now  included  in  the  Old  Testament  as  it  is  printed 
in  our  English  Bibles.  The  word  "canon,"  used  in  con- 
nection with  the  Bible,  means  the  list  of  books  that  have 
been  declared  by  some  competent  religious  authority  to 

270 


THE  JEWISH  SCRIPTURES  271 

be  necessary  and  sufficient  for  the  religious  guidance  of 
life.  The  word  '^canon"  also  implies  that  the  books  so 
included  have  been  selected  out  of  a  larger  group  of  writ- 
ings also  treating  of  religion.  Preceding  chapters  have 
made  clear  that  the  Old-Testament  Scriptures  were  only 
a  part  of  the  religious  writings  of  the  Jews.  Out  of  the 
larger  group  of  writings  there  came  to  be  selected  certain 
books  that  were  accepted  as  sacred,  as  having  divine  au- 
thority, and,  therefore,  as  necessary  and  sufficient  for  the 
religious  instruction  of  Israel. 

We  have  seen  that  the  teaching  of  the  prophets  was 
accepted  as  the  utterance  of  Jehovah.  Consider  again 
the  import  of  these  words:  "And  the  king  commanded 
Hilkiah  the  priest,  .  .  .  saying.  Go  ye,  inquire  of  Je- 
hovah for  me,  and  for  the  people,  and  for  all  Judah,  con- 
cerning the  words  of  this  book  that  is  found.  ...  So  Hil- 
kiah the  priest  .  .  .  went  unto  Huldah  the  prophetess 
.  .  .  and  they  communed  with  her.  And  she  said  unto 
them.  Thus  saith  Jehovah,  the  God  of  Israel,"  etc.  (2 
Kings  22.  12-15).  Compare  with  this  incident  of  the 
seventh  century  before  Christ  a  scene  in  the  stirring  Mac- 
cabean  times.  The  Jews  have  possessed  themselves  again 
of  the  Temple,  which  had  been  defiled  with  heathen  sacri- 
fices. It  seemed  to  them  that  the  altar  of  Jehovah, 
having  been  desecrated  by  heathen  offerings,  could  not  be 
used  again.  Yet  these  stones,  having  once  been  conse- 
crated to  Jehovah,  could  not  be  treated  commonly.  To 
this  situation  the  following  words  apply:  "And  they  took 
counsel  concerning  the  altar  of  burnt  offerings  which  had 
been  profaned,  what  they  should  do  with  it,  and  there 
came  into  their  mind  a  good  counsel  that  they  should  pull 
it  down,  lest  it  should  be  a  reproach  to  them  because  the 
Gentiles  had  defiled  it;  and  they  pulled  down  the  altar, 
and  laid  up  the  stones  in  the  mountain  of  the  house  in 
a  convenient  place,  until  there  should  come  a  prophet  to 
give  an  answer  concerning  them"  (1  Maccabees  4.  41:-46). 
Here  at  widely  separated  periods  of  Israel's  history  is 
expressed  religion's  dependence  on  the  living  medium  of 
divine  revelation.     This  expression  of  God's  word  neces- 


272  THE  RELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

sarily  precedes  the  use  of  a  book  in  which  divine  guidance 
may  be  found.  Before  there  could  be  a  canon,  a  collection 
of  writings  regarded  as  sacred  and  authoritative,  there 
must  first  be  a  transfer  from  the  spoken  to  the  written 
word  as  the  source  of  divine  revelation. 

The  Growth  of  the  Old-Testament  Canon 

The  Legal  Canon. — Keeping  in  mind  that  the  idea  of 
the  canon  means  an  authorized  selection  of  sacred  writ- 
ings, we  turn  to  one  of  a  few  most  significant  scenes  in 
Israel's  life.  The  account  is  found  in  2  Kings  23.  1-3. 
Eead  these  verses  closely  and  observe  that  King  Josiah 
summons  a  popular  assembly  in  the  Temple  area  at  Jeru- 
salem ;  that  the  elders  of  the  families,  priests,  and  prophets 
are  present,  together  with  a  great  company  of  unofficial 
citizens;  that  the  king  reads  to  the  assembled  Israelites  a 
certain  book  that  demands  in  the  name  of  Jehovah  certain 
moral  and  ceremonial  regulations;  that  the  king  and  his 
people  solemnly  covenant  to  observe  the  demands  of 
this  book  and  in  so  pledging  themselves  to  its  observance 
they  accept  this  book  as  the  true  word  of  God.  This  is 
the  first  clearly  taken  step  in  the  formation  of  the  Old- 
Testament  canon.  The  book  that  here  begins  the  Hebrew 
canon  was  in  most  respects  our  present  book  of  Deuter- 
onomy. 

This  Deuteronomic  Code  held  its  normative  position 
from  the  date  of  its  adoption,  621  B.  C,  through  the  exilic 
period  and  became  the  law  that  directed  the  worship  of 
the  second  Temple  until  the  arrival  of  Ezra  in  Jerusalem 
at  about  400  B.  C.  During  the  intervening  years  Jewish 
law  was  still  further  collected,  modified,  and  codified. 
Ezra  brought  with  him  to  Jerusalem  a  new  code  of  laws, 
which  he  succeeded  in  getting  the  Jewish  community  to 
adopt.  The  account  is  given  in  Nehemiah  8.  1-12.  Ob- 
serve that  Ezra  reads  "the  book  of  the  law  of  Moses''  to 
a  mixed  assembly ;  and  the  people's  behavior,  together  with 
the  formal  statement  (Nehemiah  9.  38)  that  a  covenant 
was  made,  indicate  that  this  book  of  law,  like  the  Deuter- 
onomic Code  of  more  than  two  centuries  before,  is  solemnly 


I 


THE  JEWISH  SCRIPTURES  273 

accepted  as  canonical — that  is,  in  this  book  God's  will  is 
revealed,  and  this  written  revelation  has  authority  in  the 
conduct  of  life.  Not  long  after  this  event  it  is  believed 
that  the  Deuteronomic  Code,  to  which  in  the  meantime 
had  been  affixed  the  historical  narratives  upon  which  it 
was  based,  was  united  with  the  code  introduced  by  Ezra, 
and  this  union  produced  the  Pentateuch  in  the  form  in 
which  we  now  have  it.  So  the  canon  of  the  law  was  formed 
near  the  opening  of  the  fourth  century  before  Christ. 
From  this  time  on  it  holds  an  unquestioned  place  in  the 
religious  life  of  Judaism. 

The  Prophetical  Canon. — The  steps  leading  toward  the 
canonization  of  the  prophetical  books  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment cannot  be  traced  so  clearly.  In  the  prologue  of  the 
apocryphal  book  the  Wisdom  of  Jesus,  the  Son  of  Sirach 
(or  Ecclesiasticus),  which  was  written  about  130  B.  C, 
it  is  stated,  "Whereas  many  and  great  things  have  been 
delivered  unto  us  by  the  law  and  the  prophets,  and  by 
the  others  that  have  followed  in  their  steps,  my  grandfather 
Jesus  having  given  himself  to  the  reading  of  the  law  and 
the  prophets  and  the  other  books  of  our  fathers,"  etc. 
Here  the  threefold  division  of  important  Jewish  religious 
writings  is  clearly  taken  for  granted.  According  to  49. 
10  of  this  same  book,  written  about  180  B.  C,  the  books 
of  the  prophets  already  were  regarded  as  canonical. 
These  prophetical  writings  were  our  present  books  Joshua, 
Samuel,  Kings,  Isaiah,  Jeremiah,  Ezekiel,  and  the  twelve 
so-called  minor  prophets :  Amos,  Hosea,  Micah,  Zephaniah, 
Joel,  Obadiah,  Jonah,  Nahum,  Habakkuk,  Haggai,  Ze- 
chariah,  and  Malachi.  Between  400  and  200  B.  C.  these 
books  attained  unto  that  use  and  eminence  in  Judaism 
which  warranted  their  entrance  into  the  Holy  Scriptures. 

There  is  no  hint  that  they  were  so  accepted  by  any 
formal  decision.  The  writings  of  these  prophets  appeared 
more  and  more  important  as  prophecy  grew  rarer.  Read 
again  the  foregoing  quotation  from  1  Maccabees.  Note 
the  following  from  1  Maccabees  14.  41 :  "The  Jews  and 
the  priests  were  well  pleased  that  Simon  should  be  their 
leader  and  high  priest  forever  until  there  should  arise  a 


274:  THE  EELIGION"  OF  JUDAH 

faithful  prophet/'  Examine  also  Zechariah  13.  3-5  and 
ohserve  the  startling  prediction  that  the  day  is  coming 
when  prophecy  shall  be  regarded  as  dangerous  to  the  state, 
and  it  shall  be  necessary  for  the  parents  of  a  prophet  to 
put  their  son  to  death.  All  these  references  indicate  that 
prophecy  grew  rarer  in  Judaism  and  that  by  the  end  of 
the  third  century  B.  C.  (and  without  doubt  earlier) 
prophecy  ceased  in  Israel.  When  this  took  place,  the  writ- 
ings of  the  earlier  prophets,  with  their  commanding  "Thus 
saith  the  Lord,"  and  the  historical  evidence  that  this  claim 
of  voicing  the  divine  will  was  recognized  by  the  community 
(2  Kings  22.  12-15),  seemed  the  more  valuable  and  note- 
worthy. 

The  Third  Canon. — When  the  prophetical  canon  had  ob- 
tained recognition,  at  least  by  200  B.  C,  there  were  other 
greatly  prized  Jewish  writings  that  at  this  time  failed 
of  the  recognition  obtained  by  the  early  historical  writings 
and  the  books  of  the  prophets.  Such  were  Job,  Proverbs, 
Ecclesiastes,  Lamentations,  Ezra,  Nehemiah,  Chronicles, 
Euth,  Song  of  Songs,  and  many  of  the  Psalms.  Some  of 
these  failed  of  inclusion  in  the  prophetic  canon  on  ac- 
count of  their  contents;  others  because  they  had  been  so 
recently  written;  while  Daniel  and  probably  Esther  were 
not  yet  in  existence.  Under  Antiochus  Epiphanes  the 
order  went  forth  to  destroy  the  "books  of  the  law"  (1 
Maccabees  1.  56,  57),  and  failure  to  conform  to  this  law 
incurred  the  sentence  of  death.  This  destruction  of  the 
law  undoubtedly  enhanced  the  value  of  their  national  writ- 
ings in  the  eyes  of  patriot  Jews,  and  the  destruction  of 
such  canonical  books  was  probably  accompanied  by  an  in- 
discriminate destruction  of  other  cherished  Jewish  writ- 
ings. As  a  result  of  this  persecution  all  their  religious 
books  would  take  on  heightened  sanctity.  Hence,  in  the 
quieter  days  of  the  Maccabean  kingdom  such  books  as 
had  been  purged  by  the  fire  of  the  Antiochean  persecution 
won  their  place  of  veneration  in  the  regard  of  Judaism. 
A  tradition  of  such  a  new  veneration  for  these  writings  is 
preserved  in  2  Maccabees  2.  14:  "And  in  like  manner 
Judas  also  gathered  together  for  us  all  those  writings  that 


THE  JEWISH  SCRIPTUEES  275 

had  been  scattered  by  reason  of  the  war  that  befell,  and 
they  are  still  with  us."  It  is  quite  probable  that  the  books 
mentioned  above,  and  which  are  now  a  part  of  our  Old 
Testament,  won  their  place  in  the  reverent  regard  of  the 
Pharisees  by  100  B.  C.  Thus,  while  there  was  no  official 
pronouncement  in  regard  to  the  prophetical  canon  and  this 
third  group  of  writings  (known  in  Hebrew  as  the  Kethubim 
and  in  Greek  as  the  Hagiographa),  the  limits  of  the  Old 
Testament  were  practically  settled  a  century  before  the 
Christian  era. 

That  the  third  group  of  writings  was  not  firmly  and 
irrevocably  fixed  for  nearly  two  centuries  is  witnessed  by 
the  counsel  of  Jamnia,  held  probably  in  A.  D.  90.  At  this 
assembly  of  Jewish  rabbis  the  question  of  the  canon  was 
raised.  There  seems  to  have  been  a  difference  of  opinion 
among  Jewish  teachers  whether  the  Song  of  Songs  and 
Ecclesiastes  were  Holy  Scripture.  At  this  time  it  finally 
was  agreed  that  these  two  books  belonged  to  the  sacred 
writings  of  the  Jew.  There  is  evidence,  also,  that  at 
times  the  canonicity  of  Ezekiel,  Jonah,  Proverbs,  and 
Esther,  in  addition  to  the  Song  of  Songs  and  Ecclesiastes, 
was  questioned.  It  was  said  that  Ezekiel  contradicted  the 
Pentateuch,  hinted  that  Jonah  was  a  piece  of  legend,  sup- 
posed that  Proverbs  favored  heretics,  that  Esther  omitted 
the  name  of  God,  that  the  Song  of  Songs  was  a  secular 
poem,  and  that  Ecclesiastes  was  unorthodox.  But  all 
these  points  were  eventually  resolved,  and  the  Old  Testa- 
ment by  A.  D.  100  stands  forth  the  exclusive  Scriptures 
of  Judaism  and  the  treasured  possession  of  the  Christian 
communities. 

The  Alexandrian  Canon. — The  three  canons  discussed 
above,  which  include  our  present  Old-Testament  canon, 
were  the  collection  of  Jewish  sacred  writings  made  by 
Jews  in  Palestine.  Among  the  Greek-speaking  Jews  of 
Egypt  there  was  a  larger  collection  of  writings,  which 
possessed,  or  nearly  so,  the  character  of  Holy  Scripture. 
It  was  the  Palestinian  canon  that  was  used  by  Jesus  and 
his  disciples.  But  the  Gentilic  churches,  built  up  out 
of  a  Greek-speaking  world,  used  the  Septuagint,  with  its 


276  THE  RELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

wider  collection  of  books.  This  is  what  is  called  the  Alex- 
andrian canon.  This  so-called  Alexandrian  canon  in  ad- 
dition to  the  books  of  our  present  Old  Testament,  in- 
cluded the  following:  First  and  Second  Esdras,  Tobit, 
Judith,  seven  additional  chapters  to  Esther,  the  Wisdom 
of  Solomon,  Ecclesiasticus  (or  the  Wisdom  of  Jesus,  Son 
of  Sirach),  Baruch,  the  Song  of  the  Three  Children, 
the  History  of  Susanna,  Bel  and  the  Dragon,  the 
Prayer  of  Manasses,  First  and  Second  Maccabees.  These 
books  had  wide  circulation  among  the  early  Christians 
and  finally,  with  the  exception  of  First  and  Second  Esdras 
and  the  Prayer  of  Manasses,  regarded  by  the  Roman 
Church  also  as  apocryphal,  were  included  in  the  canon  of 
the  Roman  Catholic  Church.  By  the  Protestants  this 
entire  list  is  counted  apocryphal.  This  constitutes  the 
chief  difference  between  the  Roman  Catholic  and  Protest- 
ant Bibles.  Among  the  Greek-speaking  Jews  there  were 
other  writings  in  circulation  which  failed  eventually  of 
canonicity.  Some  of  these  are  the  Psalms  of  Solomon, 
Enoch,  and  the  Book  of  Jubilees,  all  of  which  are  of  great 
importance  in  tracing  the  development  of  pre-Christian 
Jewish  religion. 

The  Importance  of  the  Canon 

Among  the  Jews  themselves  in  the  pre-Christian  cen- 
turies the  conception  and  use  of  a,  collection  of  sacred 
Scriptures,  as  we  have  seen,  was  not  so  prominent  as  it 
has  been  among  Jews  since  the  opening  of  the  Christian 
era  and  within  the  Christian  church.  But  during  the 
four  centuries  before  Christ  the  canon  was  growing  in 
importance,  and  apart  from  the  canon  of  the  law  the 
Maccabean  struggles  would  not  have  taken  place.  It 
may  be  said  that  the  Pentateuch  preserved  Judaism 
through  the  Greek  persecutions  and,  together  with  subse- 
quent additions  to  the  canon,  enabled  Judaism  to  survive 
the  destruction  of  the  nation. 

The  Christian  church  began  with  the  Old-Testament 
canon  as  its  only  sacred  Scriptures.  The  apostles  under- 
took to  show  that  the  life  and  teachings  of  Jesus,  his  deeds 


THE  JEWISH  SCRIPTURES  277 

and  his  destiny,  were  the  precise  fulfillment  of  Old-Testa- 
ment predictions.  Their  whole  method  of  early  preaching 
would  have  been  impossible  apart  from  the  canonical  con- 
ception and  use  of  Jewish  religious  writings.  Then,  too, 
the  presence  of  a  Jewish  canon  stimulated  the  early  church 
to  collect  and  reverence  the  writings  of  Christian  apostles, 
evangelists,  and  teachers.  The  very  existence  of  a  New 
Testament  rests  upon  the  presence  of  the  Old  Testament 
in  Judaism  in  the  time  of  Christ. 

With  the  exception  of  the  codes  of  law  none  of  these 
Old-Testament  books,  when  they  first  appeared,  had 
stamped  upon  them,  in  the  estimation  of  the  people,  un- 
mistakable evidence  of  their  divine  authority.  Their  ac- 
ceptance as  the  Word  of  God  was  a  gradual  appreciation 
of  their  power  to  build  up  the  moral  and  religious  life  of 
men.  This  final  Jewish  estimate  of  their  own  writings 
has  been  approved  by  the  judgment  of  the  Christian 
world. 

"If  we  look  steadily  at  the  contents  of  the  Bible  from 
the  point  of  view  of  an  increasing  purpose,  they  seem  quite 
worthy  to  have  come  from  God.  If  we  take  them  as  a 
revelation  of  what  God  himself  is  and  of  his  method  of  his 
dealings  with  mankind  and  if  we  bear  in  mind  that  this 
revelation  has  been  gradual  and  progressive,  it  is  difficult 
to  conceive  one  tliat  could  have  been  better.  There  is  im- 
pressed upon  the  writings  which  make  up  the  Bible  a 
breadth  and  a  variety,  an  intensity  and  purity  of  religious 
life,  that  are  without  parallel  in  any  other  literature  of 
the  world.  This  is  the  fact  which  we  seek  to  express  in 
the  doctrine  of  inspiration.  We  know  no  other  explanation 
for  it  than  a  special  action  of  the  Spirit  of  Gocl."^ 

The  writing  of  the  Old-Testament  books  and  their  col- 
lection into  a  canon  show  that  Hebrew  and  Jewish  life 
for  a  thousand  years  was  being  impressed  more  and  more 
clearly  by  the  Spirit  of  God.  God  was  dealing  actively 
with  them  through  all  their  history,  and  there  was 
a    continual   manifestation    of   his   will.      Their  achieve- 


Article  "Bible,"  in  Encyclopedia  of  Religion  and  Ethics,  Sanday. 


278  THE  RELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

ments  constitute  a  stream  of  religious  revelation.  Yet 
one  cannot  suppose  that  God  was  not  dealing  actively  with 
men  beyond  the  limits  of  the  Bible.  To  do  so  would  stifle 
our  hopes  and  ideals  to-day.  The  stream  of  divine  revela- 
tion not  only  flows  through  Jewish  minds:  it  courses 
through  the  life  of  every  people  and  will  continue  until 
it  empties  into  the  sea  of  perfect  knowledge  of  God.  The 
Bible  shows  us  this  stream  of  divine  contact  and  revela- 
tion flooding  its  channels,  but  unless  it  also  points  out  that 
revelation  is  and  ought  to  be  a  constant  possession  of 
the  Christian  church  it  falls  short  of  its  highest  mission. 

The  Bible  in  Human  Life 

Our  studies  have  shown  that  the  Old  Testament  springs 
up  out  of  the  throbbing,  living  experiences  of  men.  It 
is  an  intensely  human  book.  It  quivers  with  human  trial 
and  struggle,  triumph  and  tragedy,  despair  and  unde- 
feated aspiration.  It  voices  the  human  soul  in  protest 
against  the  physical  world  through  nearly  a  thousand  years. 
It  is  a  record  of  man^s  approach  to  God  and  God^s  recep- 
tion of  man.  It  points  the  way  in  which  any  man  must 
move  to  live  in  company  with  his  heavenly  Father. 

Therefore,  we  must  bring  the  Bible  back  into  life.  It 
has  gone  from  our  homes  and  schools.  Our  youth  are  un- 
familiar with  its  deathless  lessons;  our  men  and  women 
know  few  of  its  truths  to  sustain  them  in  the  crisis  of 
life.  We  guess  at  the  teaching  of  Him  we  call  our  Master. 
We  do  not  know  the  rare  and  splendid  triumphs  of  the 
prophets,  in  whom  religion  became  ethical  fellowship  with 
God.  We  are  not  caught  up  into  its  mighty  urging  of  the 
primacy  of  the  inner  life  in  the  affairs  of  mankind. 

The  greatest  enemy  of  the  Bible  is  he  who  will  not  study 
it.  The  measure  of  the  people's  wisdom  in  these  days  of 
tumbling  theories  and  institutions  is  the  earnestness  with 
which  they  turn  to  the  sacred  writings  to  find  in  them  the 
way  to  God.  It  is  time  that  the  church  turned  with  new 
eagerness  to  the  Book  of  books.  We  must  make  the  years 
immediately  at  hand  a  Bible-studying  age.  Bible  read- 
ing must  be  reestablished  in  every  home,  and  eveiy  mem- 


THE  JEWISH  SCRIPTUKES  279 

ber  of  the  church  must  enroll  in  some  class  for  Bible 
study.  To  fail  to  do  these  things  is  national  stagnation 
and  individual  death. 

We  cannot  continue  to  exist  in  militarism,  greed,  and 
materialistic  ideals  of  worth  and  success.  We  must  hear, 
above  our  blind  willfulness  and  passion,  God's  call  to  seek 
first  the  kingdom  of  justice,  righteousness,  and  love.  There 
always  will  be  dark  ages,  whose  struggles  are  not  sacrifices 
to  usher  in  our  long-dreamed  brotherhood.  Unless  we 
humble  ourselves  before  God  and  ask  what  we  must  do 
to  be  saved,  there  can  be  no  other  end  to  selfish  nationalism 
among  the  peoples  of  the  earth  than  an  age  of  darkness. 

The  first  step  to  ascertain  God's  will  is  to  bring  back 
the  Bible  into  our  homes  and  schools.  Nothing  less  than 
a  new  generation  of  prayer,  Bible  study,  and  obedience  of 
God  will  save  civilization  in  times  of  trial.  God 
speaks  to  us  in  terrible  warnings.  The  great  war,  which 
filled  the  world  with  horror  and  which  crushed  the  castes 
of  birth,  wealth,  and  political  supremacy,  sounded  one  con- 
tinuous thunderous  call  in  the  souls  of  men:  the  call  to 
search  the  sacred  Scriptures  to  find  in  them  for  our  suf- 
fering, foolish,  misguided  world  the  way  to  God. 

Questions  for  Study 

1.  What  three  of  Israel's  contributions  to  Christianity  have 
been  studied  in  previous  chapters? 

2.  What  service  was  rendered  the  Christian  church  by  the 
Jewish  Scriptures? 

3.  What  does  the  word  "canon"  mean?  What  elements  in 
a  book  make  it  canonical?  Note  that  the  very  idea  of  a 
canon  involves  the  transfer  from  the  spoken  to  the  written 
word  as  the  source  of  divine  revelation.  In  the  light  of  this 
fact  what  loss  to  religion  does  the  possession  of  a  canon  en- 
tail? Estimate  the  gain  to  religion  through  dependence  on 
canonical  Scriptures. 

4.  What  Jewish  writing  first  won  canonicity?  Under  what 
circumstances  did  this  take  place? 

5.  At  what  time  was  the  next  step  taken?  What  writings 
next  became  canonical?  Narrate  the  circumstances  that  led 
to  this  second  canon  of  Jewish  law. 

6.  When  did  our  present  Pentateuch  obtain  its  canonicity? 

7.  What  differences  in  method  obtain  in  the  formation  of 


280  THE  RELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

prophetical  canon?  By  what  date  was  this  accomplished? 
What  hooks  are  included  in  the  prophetical  canon?  What  con- 
ditions emphasized  the  importance  of  these  prophetical  writ- 
ings and  so  helped  forward  their  canonicity? 

8.  What  writings  were  in  existence  by  200  B.  C,  but  failed 
to  get  into  the  canon?    Why  were  they  not  included? 

9.  What  others  of  our  present  Old-Testament  books  were 
not  included  in  the  prophetical  canon,  and  why?  What  his- 
torical conditions  probably  enhanced  the  value  of  these  writ- 
ings?    When  did  they  practically  become  canonical? 

10.  What  are  those  Old-Testament  books  whose  canonicity 
was  questioned?     For  what  reasons? 

11.  When  was  the  canon  of  the  Old  Testament  finally  set- 
tled? 

12.  What  is  meant  by  the  Alexandrian  canon?  What  were 
its  contents? 

13.  What  was  the  usage  of  the  early  Christians  in  the 
matter  of  the  Old-Testament  canon? 

14.  What  books  are  regarded  as  canonical  by  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church  which  are  not  found  in  Protestant  Bibles? 
What  is  the  explanation  of  this  difference? 

15.  What  important  Jewish  writings  entirely  failed  of 
canonicity? 

16.  What  immeasurably  important  political  service  was 
rendered  Judaism  by  its  canon  of  the  law?  What  has  been 
the  contribution  of  the  Old-Testament  canon  to  the  Chris- 
tian church?  What  reasons  are  there  for  the  continued  use 
in  the  church  of  these  Jewish  writings  as  canonical? 

17.  Ought  the  use  of  canonical  Scriptures  to  make  need- 
less the  study  of  other  religious  writings,  which  are  not  in 
the  canon? 

18.  To  what  extent  should  a  Christian  rely  upon  the  Bible 
for  the  guidance  of  his  life? 

Selected  Readings 

The  Old  Testament  in  the  Jewish  Church,  W.  R.  Smith, 
Lecture  VI. 

Article  "Bible,"  Encyclopedia  of  Religion  and  Ethics, 
Volume  II,  pages  563-71. 

Articles  "Bible,"  "Canon,"  and  "Old-Testament  Canon," 
Dictionary  of  the  Bible,  Hastings. 

The  Canon  of  the  Old  Testament,  Ryle.  This  is  an  ex- 
cellent discussion  of  the  formation  and  growth  of  the  Jewish 
canonical  Scriptures. 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

THE  DEVELOPING  KINGDOM  OF  GOD 

Our  long  survey  of  the  development  of  religious  ideas 
among  the  Hebrews  and  the  Jewish  people  until  the  be- 
ginning of  the  Christian  era  is  nearly  done.  It  has  been 
a  fascinating  story  in  itself,  but  in  the  light  it  throws 
upon  the  origins  of  Christianity  its  value  is  beyond  esti- 
mate. The  present  chapter  summarizes  the  changes  that 
took  place  through  the  dozen  centuries  that  have  occu- 
pied us  in  the  study  of  Israel  and  Judah.  We  have 
defined  the  kingdom  of  God  to  be  the  rule  of  God  in 
human  life.  During  the  centuries  under  review  vast 
changes  have  taken  place  in  the  spiritual  structure  of  the 
individual  and  community,  and  revolutionary  transforma- 
tions have  been  wrought  in  man's  conception  of  the  char- 
acter and  purposes  of  God.  These  changes  have  given 
religion  an  indisputable  position  in  the  life  of  mankind. 
We  may  well  believe  that  God's  sovereignty,  his  character, 
and  his  purposes  do  not  change  their  nature;  but  we  can 
see  that  man's  idea  of  these  aspects  of  the  being  of  God 
does  change.  In  discussing  the  development  of  the  sov- 
ereignty of  God  we  are  studying  only  the  development  in 
man's  conception  of  his  divine  Overlord. 

The   Sovereignty   of   God 

The  Source  of  God's  Authority. — Like  other  primitive 
peoples  the  Hebrews  began  their  national  history  with 
power  as  the  dominant  conception  of  Jehovah's  character. 
He  was  worthy  of  the  Hebrews'  obedience  because  he  had 
freed  them  from  the  servitude  of  Egypt  and  given  them  a 
home  in  Canaan.  This  power  was  the  power  to  coerce 
nature  and  to  lead  his  people  in  victorious  battle.  It  was 
his  ability  to  get  things  done  by  a  kind  of  physical  crush 

281 


282  THE  RELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

of  obstacles  which  constituted  his  right  to  the  loyalty  of 
his  people.  Read  Exodus  15.  1-10  and  note  this  concep- 
tion of  Jehovah's  sovereignty.  Examine  also  Judges  5. 
4,  5,  taken  from  another  one  of  Israel's  earliest  songs,  and 
observe  that  Jehovah's  right  to  Hebrew  obedience  is  based 
upon  this  physical  conception  of  his  power. 

With  the  eighth-century  prophets  the  supreme  right  of 
Jehovah  to  rule  in  the  affairs  of  men  rests  in  his  moral 
character.  Jehovah  still  rules  in  might,  but  he  keeps 
his  throne  because  he  demands  justice  and  righteousness. 
The  student  should  reexamine  Amos  2.  4-8;  3.  13-15;  4.  1; 
Hosea  4.  1-3;  10.  13,  14;  and  Isaiah's  vision  (chapter  6) 
of  the  holiness  of  Jehovah.  God  rules,  according  to  pro- 
phetic teaching,  not  because  he  can,  but  because,  through 
the  moral  splendor  of  his  nature,  he  is  worthy  to  admin- 
ister the  affairs  of  men.  There  is  no  possible  overemphasis 
of  the  importance  of  this  contribution  to  religion. 

The  Character  of  God. — Something  of  the  finer  concep- 
tions that  men  came  to  hold  of  the  character  of  God  is 
indicated.  Genesis  2.  9;  3.  22,  23  is  a  fragment  of  an 
early  account  of  man's  failure  to  win  immortality.  In  the 
Garden  of  Eden  there  were  many  trees  pleasant  to  look 
upon,  and  whose  fruits  were  excellent  food.  There  were 
also  two  magic  trees  among  them:  the  tree  whose  fruit 
made  those  who  ate  it  wise,  and  the  tree  whose  fruit  con- 
ferred immortality.  From  the  reasons  given  in  Genesis 
3.  22,  23  for  the  expulsion  of  man  from  this  paradise  what 
inference  must  be  drawn  concerning  the  character  of 
deity?  Also,  in  the  other  narrative  of  the  transgression 
of  the  prohibition  to  eat  of  the  tree  of  knowledge  what 
moral  basis  is  there  given  for  Jehovah's  denial  of  the  fruit 
of  this  tree  to  man?  Is  it  fair  to  say  that  in  neither  of 
these  accounts  does  any  moral  character  appear  in  Jeho- 
vah? Compare  this  early  conception  of  Jehovah's  will, 
which  brooks  no  thwarting,  with  the  intensely  moral  char- 
acter of  his  will  as  revealed  in  the  prophets.  In  Isaiah 
1.  2  it  is  said  that  Jehovah's  children  have  rebelled  against 
him.  This  means  that  they  have  not  fulfilled  his  will. 
Bead  1.  17  and  note  what  constitutes  the  nature  of  this  re- 


THE  DEVELOPING  KINGDOM  OF  GOD     283 

bellion.  What  development  has  taken  place  in  IsraoFs 
conception  of  the  character  of  Jehovah? 

The  Scope  of  His  Kingdom. — In  the  earliest  periods  of 
Israel's  life  Jehovah  was  not  regarded  the  world's  sole 
Deity.  Each  nation  or  people  had  its  own  divine  lord. 
There  are  many  evidences  of  this  early  belief  in  our  Old- 
Testament  literature.  Examine  Deuteronomy  32.  21;  1 
Samuel  5.  1-5;  26.  19;  1  Kings  16.  31,  32.  Jehovah's 
rule  was  confined  to  his  own  land.  When  David  was  driven 
out  of  Palestine  into  Philistia,  the  worship  of  Jehovah 
was  possible  no  longer.  Naaman  needed  to  carry  "two 
mules'  burden"  of  Palestinian  soil — Jehovah's  soil — ^with 
him  to  Damascus  to  build  Jehovah's  altar  thereon  in  order 
to  make  the  worship  of  Jehovah  legitimate  in  a  foreign 
land.  Again,  the  eighth-century  prophets  worked  a  revo- 
lution in  Hebrew  thought.  In  Amos  1  and  2  Jehovah's 
rule  is  extended  to  Damascus,  Gaza,  Tyre,  Edom,  Ammon, 
and  Moab.  Examine  Isaiah  5.  26;  13.  17,  where  Assyria 
and,  later,  the  Median  kingdom  are  considered  to  be  within 
the  realm  of  Jehovah  and  subject  to  his  authority.  He 
uses  Assyria  to  execute  vengeance  upon  Israel  and  the 
Medes  to  chastise  Babylonia.  Later  prophets  (for  ex- 
ample Zechariah  14.  9)  assert  in  unequivocal  language 
Jehovah's  universal  sway. 

The  scope  of  Jehovah's  rule,  in  the  thought  of  Israel, 
was  extended  in  another  direction.  In  early  Hebrew 
thought  Jehovah's  rule  was  confined  to  the  living.  The 
dead,  who  drew  out  their  dreary  lives  in  Sheol,  were  be- 
yond his  jurisdiction.  He  was  God  of  the  living,  and  not 
of  the  departed  shades  of  mankind.  Examine  Psalms  30. 
9;  31.  22;  88.  5;  115.  17;  119.  175;  146.  2;  Isaiah  38.  18, 
19  for  this  belief :  that  Sheol  lies  outside  the  dominion  of 
Jehovah.  But  as  Jehovah's  rule  was  moralized,  his  sway 
was  believed  to  extend  over  the  realm  of  departed  spirits. 
See  Job  26.  6;  38.  17;  Proverbs  15.  11;  Psalms  139.  7,  8 
for  this  inclusion  of  Sheol  within  the  boundaries  of  Je- 
hovah's kingdom.  It  was  not  until  this  extension  of  Je- 
hovah's sovereignty  was  accepted  that  belief  in  a  resurrec- 
tion was  possible.     When  the  goal  of  religion  was  con- 


284  THE  RELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

ceived  as  fellowship  with  Jehovah,  and  the  Messianic 
kingdom  became  a  fixed  hope,  the  righteous  dead  then  are 
expected  to  be  brought  forth  from  Sheol  to  share  these 
blessings.  In  the  canonical  literature  this  hope  of  a  resur- 
rection is  found  in  Isaiah  26.  19  and  Daniel  12.  2,  3. 
Finally,  this  rule  of  the  departed  spirits  of  men  insures 
their  blessed  immortality  apart  from  the  resurrection  of 
the  body. 

"And  their  bones  shall  rest  in  the  earth,  and  their  spirits 
shall  have  much  joy,  and  they  shall  know  that  it  is  the 
Lord  who  executes  judgment,  and  shows  mercy  to  hun- 
dreds and  thousands  and  to  all  that  love  him''  (Book  of 
Jubilees  23.  11). 

"The  souls  of  the  righteous  are  in  the  hand  of  God, 
And  no  torment  shall  touch  them. 
In  the  eyes  of  the  foolish  they  seem  to  have  died ; 
But  they  are  in  peace, 

For  even  if  in  the  sight  of  men  they  be  punished. 
Their  hope  is  full  of  immortality''  (Wisdom  of  Solomon 
3.  1-4). 

Thus,  Jehovah,  from  being  the  Deity  of  the  living  He- 
brew, comes  to  be  believed  as  the  Lord  of  the  living  and 
the  dead  of  all  peoples  in  time  and  eternity. 

The  Nature  of  His  Rule  Among  Men. — In  the  earliest 
literature  Jehovah  is  a  war  god  who  fights  Israel's  battles 
until  the  tribes  are  settled  in  Canaan  and  who  comes  to 
their  relief  in  times  of  crisis  and  helps  them  overthrow 
their  enemies.  He  is  little  concerned  in  the  social  devel- 
opment of  his  people.  Again  it  is  the  prophets  beginning 
with  Amos  who  made  clear  that  his  kingdom  is  not  po- 
litical superiority  over  the  nation's  enemies  but  is  social 
justice  and  righteousness.  This  is  the  beginning  of  the 
conception  of  the  Messianic  hope.  There  shall  be  a  king- 
dom, Israel's  teachers  were  constrained  to  hope,  wherein 
righteousness,  justice,  and  peace  shall  envelop  the  world. 

Jehovah's  Purposes  in  Creation. — In  the  sixth  tablet  of 
the  Babylonian  story  of  creation  the  following  lines  oc- 
cur: 


THE  DEVELOPING  KINGDOM  OF  GOP     285 

"When  ^larduk  heard  the  word  of  the  gods, 
His  heart  moved  him,  and  he  devised  a  cunning  plan. 
'My  blood  will  I  take,  and  bone  will  I  fashion ; 
I  shall  create  man,  who  shall  inhabit  the  earth; 
Let  the  worship  of  the  gods  be  established;  let  their 
shrines  be  built/ '' 

It  is  conjectured  that  "the  word  of  the  gods"  is  their  com- 
plaint that  there  is  none  to  do  them  reverence.  Hence, 
man  is  created  to  build  altars  and  to  conduct  a  worship 
to  please  his  overlords.  It  is  not  unlikely  that  this  is  a 
common  Semitic  conception  of  the  purpose  of  creation. 
However,  there  is  no  clear  statement  in  preprophetic 
literature  to  show  that  the  purpose  of  man's  creation  was 
a  vital  question.  But  Exodus  19.  5  and  Deuteronomy 
32.  8,  9;  16  and  17,  21  to  24  do  indicate  that  as  long  as 
Israel  worshiped  Jehovah,  all  went  well;  but  as  soon  as 
they  worshiped  another  deity,  Jehovah  was  determined  to 
destroy  them.  This  seems  to  bear  out  the  Babylonian 
view.  But  with  the  preaching  of  the  prophets  a  higher 
view  dawns.  The  entire  teaching  of  the  prophets  is  based 
on  the  belief  that  Jehovah's  purpose  in  man  is  to  draw 
him  into  moral  fellowship  with  himself.  "What  doth  Je- 
hovah require  of  thee  ?"  asks  Micah,  in  the  name  of  proph- 
ecy, of  his  countrymen.  He  answers  the  question:  "To 
do  justly,  and  to  love  kindness,  and  to  walk  humbly  with 
thy  God."  It  would  therefore  seem  that  the  end  of  crea- 
tion, according  to  prophetic  thought,  is  to  bring  into  being 
a  world  of  persons  who  shall  live  in  moral  fellowship  with 
each  other.  Undoubtedly  such  fellowship  is  conceived  to 
heighten  the  glory  and  satisfaction  of  God  and  to  this 
extent  connects  with  the  Babylonian  view.  But  to  con- 
ceive creation  as  a  process  in  the  development  of  a  moral 
society  certainly  justifies  the  existence  of  nature  and  man 
and  exalts  once  more  the  Hebrew  prophet  as  the  developer 
of  the  world's  finest  thinking  and  spiritual  values. 

God's  Demands  From  Men. — We  have  seen  that  in  the 
earliest  Hebrew  centuries  men  felt  that  Jehovah's  chief 
demand  from  them  was  worship.     In  the  earliest  Deca- 


286  THE  EELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

logue,  imbedded  in  Exodus  34/  among  the  ten  divine  re- 
quirements nine  deal  with  the  obligations  of  worship  due 
Jehovah.  This  worship  became  more  and  more  an  affair 
of  ritual  at  the  various  sanctuaries  and  it  made  no  moral 
demand  and  offered  no  moral  social  guidance.  As  long  as 
the  Hebrew  felt  that  his  Deity's  supreme  demand  of  him 
was  an  animal  sacrifice,  the  kingdom  could  not  progress. 
It  was  not  until  God's  demands  were  in  terms  of  moral 
fellowship — "to  do  justly,  and  to  love  kindness,  and  to 
walk  humbly  with  God" — that  the  rule  of  God  in  human 
life  took  on  surpassing  interest.  Examine  again  Amos 
5.  21-23;  Hosea  6.  6;  Isaiah  1.  11-17  for  this  high  demand 
for  just  social  relationships  among  men  as  evidence  of 
the  fitness  for  ethical  fellowship  with  God.  Undoubtedly 
this  is  the  finest  triumph  of  Hebrew  thought.  Eeligion 
is  grounded  in  moral  fellowship;  worship  is  not  sacrifice 
but  service. 

Man's  Attitude  Towaed  the  Rule  of  God 

The  Place  of  Worship  in  Religion. — With  primitive  ideas 
of  the  character  of  God  worship  is  an  important  factor  in 
religion.  To  express  reverence,  to  exhibit  the  feeling  that 
deity  is  far  beyond  the  rank  of  man,  to  placate  him  who 
gives  the  rain,  produces  the  harvests,  and  multiplies  the 
flocks  and  herds,  is  of  the  utmost  importance.  Eeligion  in 
the  preprophetic  centuries  was  largely  an  affair  of  wor- 
ship. There  were  no  sacred  Scriptures  to  read,  no  prayers 
to  be  said,  no  religious  instruction  given.  There  were  per- 
plexing questions  to  be  answered  by  a  seer  or  by  an  appeal 
to  Urim  and  Thummim.  Away  from  a  sanctuary  a  vow 
might  be  made,  but  such  a  vow  was  a  pledge  to  the  Deity 
in  return  for  a  favor,  to  sacrifice  at  an  altar,  at  the  earliest 
opportunity.  It  was  not  until  the  prophets  made  clear 
the  ethical  character  of  deity  that  worship  became  a  sec- 
ondary element  in  religion.  For  the  prophets,  worship  in 
the  sense  in  which  it  was  carried  on  at  sanctuaries  was 
worse  than  useless :  it  was  positively  demoralizing.    In  th. 

I  Consult  The  Religion  of  Israel,  Ascham,  pages  68-70. 


THE  DEVELOPING  KINGDOM  OP  GOD     287 

prophetic  conception  of  religion  worship  has  little  place. 
It  means  to  the  prophet  a  sense  of  humility  in  tlie  pres- 
ence of  a  perfectly  just,  righteous,  and  gracious  Sovereign. 
Unfortunately  for  the  development  of  religion,  this  con- 
ception of  worship  took  little  hold  upon  Israel's  life.  Af- 
ter the  Exile  the  Temple  ritual  was  resumed  and  continued 
to  dominate  Jewish  life  until  the  destruction  of  Jerusa- 
lem by  the  Eomans.  This  idea  of  religion,  that  it  is  pri- 
marily worship,  made  possible  the  elaborate  development 
of  Israel's  priesthood  and  sacrificial  system.  The  political 
history  of  Judaism,  necessitating  some  external  religious 
object  about  which  the  persecuted  nation  could  rally,  did 
much  to  foster  and  to  perpetuate  the  priestly  conception  of 
worship  and  religious  life.  This  is  Israel's  chief  unfor- 
tunate gift  to  Christianity.  The  priest  never  has  been 
and  never  can  be  a  part  of  purest  religion.  He  interrupts 
the  moral  fellowship  of  the  individual  with  his  God,  and 
this  fellowship  is  the  soul  of  religion.  Yet,  in  spite  of  this 
priestly  worship,  Israel  has  given  us  also  the  prophetic 
ideal,  and  to  this  ideal  the  seers  of  the  ages  have  turned 
for  comfort  and  guidance.  Perhaps  it  was  from  brooding 
over  Israel's  great  prophets  that  Jesus,  in  his  life  and 
teaching,  upheld  the  prophetic  and  not  the  priestly  ideal 
of  religion.  Por  with  Jesus,  as  with  the  prophetic 
teachers  of  Israel,  religion  was  summed  up  in  complete 
love  of  God  and  love  of  neighbor  expressed  in  moral 
terms. 

The  Meaning  of  Sin. — Eefusal  to  carry  out  the  divine 
requirements  is  sin.  Prom  the  Decalogue  in  Exodus  34 
we  have  certain  early  conceptions  of  sin.  It  is  sin  to  wor- 
ship any  god  other  than  Jehovah  (Exodus  34.  14) ;  to  use 
molded  images  in  worship  (carved  ones  evidently  are  per- 
missible) (34.  17) ;  the  use  of  leavened  bread  in  a  sacri- 
ficial meal  (34.  25) ;  to  stew  a  kid  in  its  mother's  milk 
(34.  26).  The  Decalogue  of  Deuteronomy  5.  7-21  shows 
distinct  moral  advance.  To  commit  murder,  to  steal,  to 
calumniate  one's  neighbor,  to  covet  another's  property,  to 
lie,  to  commit  adultery,  to  disobey  parents — these  anarchic 
irruptions  into  a  quiet  social  order  are  sin.    In  the  teach- 


288  THE  RELIGION"  OF  JUDAH 

ing  of  the  prophets  the  ideal  life  is  moral  fellowship  with 
Jehovah  and  with  men ;  any  act,  any  thought,  which  breaks 
in  upon  this  fellowship  is  sin.  In  Chapter  XXIII  it  was 
stated  that  the  author  of  the  Twelve  Patriarchs  believed 
that  men  were  to  live  in  glad  and  just  fellowship  with  each 
other  and  with  God,  and  that  anything  that  interrupted 
this  open  communion  of  soul  was  sin.  It  was  this  pro- 
phetic— better,  Pharisaic — conception  of  sin  which  leads  di- 
rectly, through  legalistic  Judaism,  to  Jesus.  We  remem- 
ber that  the  stricter  Pharisees  defined  sin  as  any  breach 
of  the  written  law.  A  code  of  laws  defines  sin  more 
sharply,  but  its  mechanical  notion  of  sin  does  not  lead  to 
the  finest  type  of  life. 

The  Forgiveness  of  Sins. — We  have  seen  that  forgiveness 
was  not  a  simple  matter  under  Judaism.  An  elaborate 
system  of  sacrifice  and  cleansing  ritual  was  instituted  to 
set  men  right  with  God.  The  priest  became  a  mediator 
between  the  sinner  and  God.  We  saw  too  that  in  the  elab- 
orate angelology  of  Pharisaism  an  angel  became  the  media- 
tor and  intercessor.  Jewish  Christian  theology  seized  upon 
this  teaching  of  priestly  Judaism  and  turned  Jesus  into  a 
Sacrifice,  a  High  Priest,  a  Mediator,  and  an  Intercessor. 
All  this  assumes  the  reluctance  or  the  impatience  of  God 
to  forgive.  It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  the  prophetic 
ideal  of  the  kingdom — of  God's  rule  in  human  affairs — 
is  warm  and  trustful  fellowship  of  man  with  his  divine 
Master  in  moral  terms.  No  priestly  mediator  or  inter- 
cessor is  needed  in  such  a  scheme  of  the  relation  of  God 
to  man ;  what  is  needed  is  man's  putting  away  his  sin  and 
his  humble  turning  unto  God  to  renew  the  fellowship  his 
selfish  thought  or  act  had  broken.  Thus,  forgiveness  in 
the  best  Old-Testament  thought  is  precisely  what  it  is  in 
the  teaching  of  Jesus. 

Summary 

It  is  not  easy  to  hold  the  many  details  of  Israel's  re- 
ligious life  in  mind  or  to  summarize  the  beliefs  and  ex- 
periences of  the  Hebrew  and  Jewish  conceptions  of  the 
kingdom  of  God.    There  is  not  space  here  even  to  present 


THE  DEVELOPINa  KINGDOM  OF  GOD     289 

the  barest  outline  of  this  wonderful  achievement  of  the 
Jewish  people.  Think  of  the  miracle  that  the  possession 
of  these  literary  fragments  of  their  faith  in  our  Bible 
means  to  the  world.  Of  all  nations  of  antiquity  they  alone 
struggled  out  of  crude,  primitive,  nonmoral  religious  beliefs 
and  practices  into  an  ethical  monotheism  that  is  still  the 
inspiration  of  the  world.  What  is  the  explanation  of  this 
miracle  of  history?  In  these  chapters  we  have  followed 
the  changes  in  man's  thought  and  experiences.  It  might 
seem  that  religion  was  an  affair  only  of  human  life.  In  this 
final  word  let  us  look  on  the  other  side  of  this  continually 
shifting  scene  of  religious  life.  Certainly  we  shall  find 
no  explanation  of  our  miracle  on  the  human  side.  Un- 
less there  accompanied  these  various  changes,  this  move- 
ment toward  a  more  spiritual  life,  a  real  and  continuous 
activity  on  the  part  of  God,  there  is  no  interpretation  of  Is- 
rael's life.  Inspiration  and  revelation  as  activities  of  God 
are  the  only  explanation  of  Israel's  unique  and  wonderful 
history.  It  is  this  which  is  fundamental  in  the  kingdom  of 
God.  Man's  ceaseless  strivings  toward  an  ideal,  apart  from 
the  living  God  as  the  Source  and  the  Goal  of  his  striving,  is 
unthinkable.  Israel's  experience,  her  centuries  of  upward 
striving,  her  moral  achievements,  her  Messianic  hope,  her 
written  Scriptures,  bear  witness  to  the  presence  in  her  life 
of  the  eternal  God. 

AcEoss  Twenty  Centuries 

Across  twenty  centuries  the  Hebrew  extends  to  you  his 
experience  of  God.  He  unbosoms  his  soul  and  shows  you 
that  he  has  discovered  God  to  be  a  just,  loving,  and  righteous 
Euler,  Friend,  and  Father,  and  tells  you  that  you  can  enter 
into  fellowship  with  him.  You  need  no  intermediary  to 
insure  you  welcome  in  the  heart  of  God. 

He  affirms  too,  with  unshaken  optimism,  that  this  Deity, 
whom  he  came  to  know  in  the  midst  of  searching  afilictiou, 
is  actively  constructing  a  world  of  righteousness.  You 
may  sometimes  doubt  the  coming  of  the  golden  age;  our 
ancient  Hebrew  dreamer  sees  it  with  his  prophetic  soul. 
He  passes  on  to  you  his  Messianic  hope. 


390  THE  EELIGION  OF  JUDAH 

He  teaches  you  what  varied  types  of  men  may  be  king- 
dom builders.  He  and  his  brothers  were  dreamers:  staid, 
practical  statesmen,  soldiers,  legislators,  poets,  prophets, 
kings,  priests,  farmers,  shepherds;  but  each  of  them,  with 
an  ideal  like  a  miner's  lamp,  pressing  steadily  into  the 
dark. 

He  passes  on  to  you  his  finest  lesson — that  it  is  a  man's 
task  and  opportunity  to  follow  the  gleam  of  truth  in  his 
own  soul.  Even  when  the  explorer  sees  that  no  step  ever 
has  been  taken  his  way  before,  he  must  pursue  his  trackless 
path  undaunted.  God's  routes  to  the  celestial  city  have 
not  yet  all  been  mapped. 

He  urges  you  to  use  failure  as  a  rock-cut  path  up  difii- 
culty  to  the  blue  sky.  His  kingdom  was  rent  in  twain,  his 
capitals  fell  to  the  ruthless  invader,  his  people  were  scattered 
to  the  ends  of  the  earth,  his  reassembled  exiles  were 
harassed  unto  death  by  Greeks  who  would  force  their  cul- 
ture upon  the  world;  but  he  kept  his  soul  fixed  upon  the 
eternal  purposes  of  God.  The  man  with  an  ideal  is  never 
a  failure. 

He  bids  you  to  be  no  beggar  in  religion.  The  Jew  was 
always  a  bargainer  even  in  his  relation  to  God.  He  was 
bound  to  God  by  a  covenant,  but  God  was  bound  like- 
wise to  him.  This  brought  him  at  last  to  see  that  he  must 
give  in  order  to  take.  He  could  not  win  the  joy  of  moral 
fellowship  with  God  unless  he  gave  the  joy  of  moral  fel- 
lowship to  God. 

Across  twenty  centuries  the  Hebrew  offers  you  his  king- 
dom of  God.  You  modern  Christian — you  American 
Christian — ,  with  your  nation  strong  and  throbbing  with 
life,  are  the  inheritor  of  his  kingdom  whose  nation  is  no 
more.  Take  the  gift  and  beware  the  fateful  history  of  him 
who  gives  it  to  you.  Whenever  he  subverted  his  kingdom 
to  material  ends  he  was  crushed  and  thrown  aside;  when 
he  made  it  the  light  of  his  soul,  when  it  was  a  blessed  ex- 
perience within  him,  he  spoke  and  lived  a  universal  life. 
Take  the  Hebrew's  kingdom,  as  Christ  took  it,  and  glorify 
it  with  your  purest  thoughts  and  holiest  sacrifices  until  it 
becomes  yours  and,  through  you,  becomes  the  world's. 


I 


THE  DEVELOPING  KINGDOM  OF  GOD     291 


Lesson  Questions 

1.  What  is  meant  by  the  kingdom  of  God?  In  what  sense 
is  there  a  development  of  this  kingdom? 

2.  What  subtopics  are  discussed  under  the  subject  "The 
Sovereignty  of  God"? 

3.  What  was  the  early  Hebrew  conception  of  the  source  of 
God's  authority?  What  changes  occurred  in  this  idea  of 
Jehovah's  right  to  rule? 

4.  What  changes  took  place  in  Israel's  thought  of  Jehovah's 
character?  In  what  ways  was  the  range  of  Jehovah's  rule 
expanded? 

5.  Give  the  evidence  that  Israel  believed  in  the  existence 
of  other  gods  than  Jehovah?  Were  the  Hebrews  at  any  time 
polytheists?  What  was  the  chief  contributing  element  in  the 
development  of  monotheism? 

6.  Why  did  the  early  Hebrews  believe  that  Jehovah  did 
not  rule  in  Sheol? 

7.  What  element  in  the  prophetic  teaching  prepared  the 
way  for  the  belief  that  Jehovah's  realm  embraced  the  whole 
of  creation?  What  relation  does  the  resurrection  sustain 
to  Jehovah's  universal  reign? 

8.  What  changes  took  place  in  the  ideas  of  the  nature  of 
God's  rule? 

9.  What  was  the  primitive  Semitic  idea  of  the  purpose  of 
the  creation?  How  was  this  purpose  expressed  by  the 
prophets? 

10.  What  is  the  history  in  Jewish  thinking  of  God's  de- 
mands from  men? 

11.  Discuss  the  value  and  place  of  worship  in  religion. 

12.  What  changes  occurred  in  Israel's  conception  of  sin? 
What  conceptions  of  the  forgiveness  of  sin  were  developed  in 
Israel? 

13.  Estimate  the  contribution  of  the  prophets  in  the  de- 
velopment of  the  kingdom  of  God. 

14.  What  convincing  reasons  may  be  offered  for  the  pres- 
ence of  God  in  human  affairs? 

Reference  Material 

Article  "Kingdom  of  God,"  Encyclopedia  of  Religion  and 
Ethics. 

Article,  "Israel,  History  of,"  Dictionary  of  the  Bible,  Hast- 
ings. 

Article  "Revelation,"  Dictionary  of  the  Bible,  Hastings, 
Volume  V. 

The  Religious  Teaching  of  the  Old  Testament,  Knudson. 
Any  topic  treated  in  this  chapter  may  be  examined  with 
profit  in  this  book. 


INDEX 


Abijah,  7 

Adonis,  worship  of,  103 

Agricultural  feasts,  83 

Ahaz,  27,  30f. 

Ahaziah,  8 

Alexander  the  Great,  220,  235 

Aliens,  92f. 

Amaziah,  9 

Ammon,  73,  130,  133 

Anathoth,  102,  109 

Angels,  216,  246fF. 

Animals,  kindness  toward,  93f. 

Antiochus     Epiphanes,     231f., 

236f.,  246,  274 
Artaxerxes  III,  214 
Asa,  7 

Asaphite  Psalms,  213 
Assyrian  influence  in  Palestine, 

70 
Ass3Tian  invasion  of  Palestine, 

36,  40f.,  60 
Astarte,  llf.,  13 
Astral  worship,  103 
Athaliah,  8,  12 
Azariah,  9 

Baalism:  Canaanitish,  71f.,  81; 

Tyrian,  12 
Babylon,  135,  140 
Babylonian  cults  in  Judah,  70f. 
Ben  Sira,  225f. 
Bible  in  human  life,  278f. 
Book  of  the  Covenant,  85,  185 

Canaanites,  influence  of  upon 
Hebrew  religion,  11,  71f.,  81, 
113 

Canon  of  Old  Testament:  Alex- 
andrian, 275f.;  growth  of, 
272-7;  importance  of,  276f.; 
meaning  of,  270f . 

Chaflidim,  246 

Cities  of  refuge,  95f . 


Covenant,  the  new,  114,  258 
Cyrus,  135,  140,  148,  152f.,  209 

Daniel,  book  of,  233ff.;  Mes- 
sianic teaching  of,  260f. 

Darius,  156,  164,  210 

Day  of  Jehovah,  73,  135,  168, 
257f. 

Death  penalty,  193 

Deutero-Isaiah,  146 

Deuteronomic  Code,  71,  86,  96, 
102,  109,  113,  185,  272 

Deuteronomic  conception  of  life, 
198f. 

Ecclesiasticus,  223 

Edom,  130,  133 

Egypt  denounced  by  Ezekiel, 
133 

Elephantine  papyri,  215 

Enoch,  Book  of,  244, 247f.,  261f., 
263 

Essenes,  250f.,  253 

Evil,  origin  of,  247 

Exiles:  encouraged  by  prophets, 
141ff.;  return  of,  153f.;  return 
of  assured  by  Ezekiel,  133f. 

Ezekiel:  call  to  prophetic  office, 
120;  conception  of  Hebrew 
history,  123;  life  of,  119f.; 
teachings  of,  125;  view  of 
Israel's  future,  132-5,  258f. 

Ezra:  introduces  Priests'  Code, 
185ff.;  founder  of  Judaism,  193 

Feasts,  83 
Firsthngs,  83 

Gedaliah,  106 

God,  character  of,  282;  demands 
from  men,  285f.;  purpose  in 
creation,  285;  sovereignty  of, 
281,283 


293 


294 


INDEX 


Greek    influence    in    Palestine, 

220ff.,  231f. 
Guilt    individualized,   9,    193f., 

195 


Haggai,  157 
Hezekiah,  37 
Hilkiah,  73 

Holiness,  19f.,  43,  159,  190ff. 
Holiness  Code,  187f. 
Human  sacrifice,  72,  90,  103 
Hymnbooks  of  the  Temple,  212f . 
Hyrcanus,  246,  248 

Idolatry,  103 

Immortality,  135f.,  193,  215f. 

Isaiah,  call  of,  17f.;  counsel  re- 
jected by  Ahaz,  30;  doctrine 
of  "faithful  remnant,"  48; 
earliest  prophecies  of,  2 If.; 
message  of,  19f.;  message  to 
Ahaz,  28f . ;  Messianic  hope  of, 
48f.,  50f,;  political  policy  of, 
32;  religious  beliefs  of,  33 

Jamnia,  Council  of,  275 

Jehoahaz,  101 

Jehoiachin,  103,  140 

Jehoiakim,  101 

Jehoram,  8 

Jehoshaphat,  8 

Jehovah,  holiness  of,  19,  43 

Jeremiah,  73,  lOOf.,  258;  call  to 
prophetic  office,  101;  concep- 
tion of  Judah's  future,  104f, 
conception  of  religion,   113f. 
political    messages   of,    103f. 
training  and  experience,  11  If 

Jerusalem,  44;  captured  by 
Babylonians,  101 

Jews,  in  Egypt,  129f.;  in  Baby- 
lonia, 131f.,  152 

Jewish  parties,  242-6 

Joash,  8 

Job,  problem  of,  198;  teachings 
of,  204f. 

Joel,  214,  260 

Jonah,  197,  213 


Josephus,  217,  243f.,  251 

Joshua,  154,  164 

Josiah,  73f.,  76,  272 

Jotham,  10,  27 

Jubilees,  Book  of,  263 

Judah :  alliance  with  Assyria,  30, 
36,  39;  alliance  with  Egypt, 
38f.;  vassal  of  Assyria,  69; 
vassal  of  Egypt,  101 

Judaism,  129,  193f.,  252;  influ- 
enced by  Greek  civilization, 
222f.,  238;  by  Persians, 
211-17 

Judas  Maccabeus,  231,  238f. 

Justice,  administration  of,  94 

King,     laws     concerning,     95f.; 

Messianic,  51f. 
Kingdom  of  God,  development 

of,  281 
Korahite  Psalms,  213 

Law,  development  of,  84f . 

Laws,  concerning  aliens,  93f.; 
family  life,  9 If.;  slaves,  92; 
widows  and  orphans,  93;  Holi- 
ness Code,  187f.;  Priests' 
Code,  189f. 

Levites,  84,  93,  154f. 

Lot,  Sacred,  159 

Maccabean  period,  231 

Maccabean  Psalms,  236ff. 

Malachi,  teaching  of,  167f.,  259 

Manasseh,  69f.,  76 

Mattathias,  232 

Megiddo,  102 

Merodach-baladan,  37 

Messiah,  166f.,  249 

Messianic  age,  worship  in,  54; 
attempts  to  realize,  55 

Messianic  hope,  48ff.,  64f.,  214, 
265ff.;  postponed,  209f.;  pre- 
exilic,  257;  exilic,  258;  post- 
exilic,  259f.;  second  century, 
260ff.;  first  century,  263f. 

Messianic  kingdom,  163f.,  168f., 
234 


INDEX 


295 


Messianic  kings,  51f.,  258 
Messianic  social  order,  53f.,  165, 

258 
Messianism,     meaning    of,     56, 

256f.,  2G5f. 
Micah,  59f.,  285;  Messianic  hope 

of,  64 
Moab,  130,  133 
Monotheism,  33,  79f. 
Mount  of  Olives,  altars  on,  llf. 

Nebuchadnezzar,  101 

Necho,  101 

Nehemiah,  character  and  life  of, 
174f.;  governor  of  Jerusalem, 
175f . ;  services  to  Judah,  180f ., 
212 

Persia,  influence  in  Judah,  209f ., 

215-7 
Pharisees,  243 
Philistines,  133 
Philo,  250 

Piety,  meaning  of,  197,  206 
Pompey,  220 

Priest  and  prophet,  13f.,  288 
Priests,   84;  custodians  of  law, 

159;  denounced  by  Jeremiah, 

104 
Priests'  Code,  189f. 
Prophecy  inimical  to  state,  274 
Prophetic  ideal  of  religion,  65 
Prophets,  false,  104,  132 
Prophets,  mission  of,  144 
Proverbs,  book  of,  225 
Psalms,    Asaphite,    213;   Chasi- 

dic,  246f.;  exilic,  132;  Korah- 

ite,   213;   Maccabean,   236fif.; 

Messianic,  259 
Psalms  of  Solomon,  264 

"Queen  of  Heaven,"  71,  75,  103 

Reforms  inaugurated  by  Josiah, 

74 
Rehoboam,  7 
Religion,     individualization    of, 

115f.;  prophetic  ideal  of,  65, 

114-6 


Resurrection,  236,  244 
Righteousness,  meaning  of,  43, 

204f.,  248 
Ruth,  179,  197,  213 

Sabbath,  123f.,  246 

Sacrifice,  human,  72,  90,  103; 
meaning  of,  193,  195;  pro- 
phetic ideas  of,  113 

Sadducees,  242f. 

Sage,  the,  222f.;  teachings  of, 
223fif. 

Samaritans,  175,  190,  221 

Sanballat,  175,  178 

Sanctuary,  single,  law  of,  82,  95 

Sargon,  36 

Satan,  216 

Scribes,  222f. 

Sennacherib,  40,  43 

Servant  of  Jehovah,  141fif. 

Shaphan,  73 

Sheol,  136,  215f.,  245,  283f. 

Sibylline  Oracles,  261 

Sidon,  133,  214 

Sin,  forgiveness  of,  288;  meaning 
of,  287f.;  for  prophets,  60-2; 
for  Pharisees,  252f.;  for  sages, 
224f.,  227 

Slavery,  92,  105 

Social  life  in  Judah:  eighth  cen- 
tury, 37,  42,  60;  seventh  cen- 
tury, 102f.;  fifth  century, 
168fif.,  176ff.;  fourth  and  third 
centuries,  220ff. 

Social  welfare,  provisions  for, 
90,  94 

Solomon,  religious  influence  of, 
lOf. 

Suffering,  views  of,  199,  201 

Sun  worship,  71,  75,  103,  122 

Syro-Ephraimitic  war,  27,  30 

Tabernacle,  189f. 

Tahpanhes,  106 

Temple,  8f.,  13;  second,  156ff., 

166;  worship  at,  28 
Temple  music,  21  If.,  218 
Temple  singers,  177,  218 
Testament  of  the  Twelve  Patri- 
archs, 248f.,  263 


296 


INDEX 


Tiglath-pileser,  27 
Tithes,  83,  177,  212 
Tobiah,  177 
Tyre,  133 

Unclean,  159,  190f. 
Uzziah,  9 

Wisdom,    conception   of,   223f., 

229;  divine  attribute,  224f. 
Wisdom  Literature,  222 
Wisdom  of  Solomon,  225f . 
Witchcraft,  193 
Worship,   Deuteronomic  provi- 


sions for,  81-84;  in  Messianic 
age,  54;  Isaiah's  conception 
of,  44;  Jeremiah's  conception 
of,  114f.;  meaning  of,  45; 
Micah's  conception  of,  63; 
place  in  religion,  286f.;  under 
Manasseh,  70f. 

Zechariah,  163,  260;  conception 
of  Messianic  state,  163-7,  210 
Zedekiah,  101,  124 
Zephaniah,  73,  257 
Zerubbabel,  154,  155f.,  269 
Zoroafltrianism,  216 


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